Circulating Macrophage-Tumor Cell Fusion Hybrids as a Biomarker for Treatment Response in Lung Cancer
Abstract
Lung cancer represents the leading cause of cancer-related death among military personnel. The major cause of this is the increased incidence of smoking and the exposure to toxins that can cause disease. One major hurdle is that lung cancer is diagnosed when the cancer is already aggressive, has spread to other areas of the body, and does not respond to current treatments that are effective when cancer is detected early. Novel tests to detect cancer earlier would greatly improve survival, with earlier treatment at a stage where the tumor is more likely to respond and be eradicated by therapy. Another hurdle is that late-stage lung cancer often does not respond to treatment; therefore, novel tests to determine whether cancer will respond or not would optimize treatment. Our proposed studies examine a novel and exciting new population of tumor cells that circulate in the blood and as a first step for developing new tests for earlier detection of cancer and identification of treatment response. The novel circulating tumor cell biomarker that is the focus of this study has already been detected in a number of different types of cancer. Further, our laboratory is actively working on technology to facilitate detection and quantification of these cells, as well as increasing their specificity for identifying different stages of disease. We anticipate that these studies will contribute to developing an early detection of lung cancer platform.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 07, 2017
- Source ID
- W81XWH1710284
Entities
People
- Melissa Wong
Organizations
- Oregon Health & Science University
- United States Army