Committed to Excellence in Cancer Research, Education and Patient Care
Inroads
December 2021
$3.1 Million NCI Grant Supports Development of Potential Blood Test for Pancreatic Cancer
Dr. Tony Hu, the Weatherhead Presidential Chair in Biotechnology Innovation, and his team are developing a blood test for early detection of biomarkers for pancreatic cancer.
The National Cancer Institute has awarded Tulane's Center for Cellular and Molecular Diagnostics (CCMD) in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology a five-year, $3.1 million U01 grant to further develop a blood test for early detection of biomarkers for pancreatic cancer.
 
For this project, Dr. Tony Hu, the Weatherhead Presidential Chair in Biotechnology Innovation and his team at Tulane School of Medicine have chosen to focus on pancreatic cancer (PC), as improvements in early diagnosis and treatment monitoring are urgently needed to improve outcomes. The American Cancer Society estimates that 57,600 new cases of PC will be diagnosed in the US this year, and 47,050 people will die from the disease. Because symptoms typically don't develop until later stages, PC diagnoses are often made when treatment options are severely limited. In fact, the 5-year relative survival rate for all stages combined averages only about 9%. 
 
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) - bubble-like membrane-bound particles that are naturally released from cells - are the target biomarkers for this project. EVs are like small versions of the cells that generated them, encapsulating biological information from within the cellular environment and carrying that information to other cells throughout the body via the blood stream. 
 
Researchers believe EVs hold great potential as novel biomarkers for cancer, because tumors abundantly secrete EVs that transport signaling molecules regulating tumor initiation, progression and metastasis. However, detecting tumor-derived EVs has been challenging due to the lack of simple methods for EV analysis.
 
The problem is that current analysis methods require relatively large sample volumes, are low-throughput and require EV pre-isolation steps, making them labor-intensive, time-consuming, less precise and therefore impractical for clinical use. 
 
To address this problem, the CCMD research team has developed a rapid, robust, isolation-free, minimally invasive and cost-effective assay that directly quantitates tumor-derived EVs in small volumes of serum or plasma. This project focuses on smart technology - a nanoparticle-based digital EV reader - that detects target proteins on the surface of tumor-derived EVs.
 
In a pilot study, this technology distinguished pancreatic cancer cases from non-malignant controls (patients with pancreatitis and healthy individuals) with high sensitivity. The assay also differentiated pancreatic cancer tumor stages and responses to therapy, outperforming biomarker testing methods currently used for PC therapy assessment. Based on the success of the pilot study, researchers propose in this current project to further develop and validate the assay to allow for rapid and accurate PC diagnosis in clinical settings.
 
Tulane’s CCMD team worked in collaboration with a group of MD Anderson basic science cancer researchers and oncologist scientists on this grant. The successful results of this work will have a significant translational impact in cancer management, through reliable and accessible screens for the early detection of pancreatic cancer. Researchers believe it can also be adapted to diagnose and monitor cancers that express other EV biomarkers.
Pancreatic tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (depicted at left) are the target biomarkers for this project. (Image provided by Tulane's Center for Cellular and Molecular Diagnostics)
Looking Back and Looking Forward:
Our Year in Review
Friends,

As we near the end of 2021 - a year of continuing challenge for all of us - I can't help but be optimistic and grateful.

Tulane Cancer Center has weathered the storms of the past two years - both figurative and literal! - very successfully, with a constant, acute focus on the future.

Our clinicians and physician scientists pioneered new and innovative cancer treatment, detection and prevention options that have significantly raised the bar on the level of care we are able to provide our patients.

Our basic science researchers made significant discoveries in their labs that have helped to improve our understanding of how tumors form and grow and, more importantly, how to stop them. They also successfully competed for approximately $17 million in federal research grants this year, making Tulane University the state's leader in cancer research funding.

To continue our mission of raising cancer awareness and education, we pivoted to a virtual model when necessary so that we could continue to serve the needs of our community.

And our community supporters responded in kind, continuing with undeterred energy and dedication their many philanthropic activities -- despite epic challenges -- in an effort to fulfill their mission by furthering our goals.

As you review a sampling of the clinical, basic research and philanthropic highlights of the past year outlined below, I hope you are as optimistic as I am about not only how far we've come but how far we can go still - together.

And I invite you to consider supporting our endeavors in 2022 and beyond through a year-end, tax-deductible donation to our Cancer Research Fund.

To donate via credit card, please visit our website—www.canceriscurable.com—and click on “Giving” in the navigation box on the right. Then click on "Tulane Cancer Center Research Fund" and follow the prompts.
 
Prefer to donate via check? Please make check payable to “Tulane Cancer Center,” reference “TCC Research Fund” in the memo line and send to Tulane Cancer Center, ATTN: K. Green, 1430 Tulane Ave., #8668, New Orleans, LA 70112.

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Prescott

Prescott Deininger, PhD
Director, Tulane Cancer Center
Tulane Cancer Center is the first facility in the Deep South to offer MRI-guided perineal prostate biopsies as a follow-up for some men whose PSAs are elevated.

In early 2021, Tulane University School of Medicine launched its Oncology Second Opinion initiative, which provides rapid second opinions across a broad range of cancer diagnoses and treatment recommendations.

Suzana Savkovic, PhD, associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, investigates the relationship between obesity and enhanced risk for colon cancer.

Tulane team studies reduced sense of taste and smell in some prostate cancer patients.

A new cancer treatment that uses engineered radioactive molecules to target prostate cancer cells and inhibit tumor growth extended survival for patients with advanced prostate cancer.

The arrival of Dr. Jun-yuan Ji, a developmental geneticist with research interests in cancer biology, helps us to further broaden our Drosophila research program, enhancing the expertise in diverse animal models within the Tulane Cancer Center

Dr. Zhen Lin was recently awarded a five-year, $1.74 million National Cancer Institute grant to study the connection between human papillomavirus (HPV) and lung cancer development in HIV-positive patients.

Low-dose CT lung cancer screenings – offered at Tulane Lakeside and Tulane Medical Center downtown – can help detect lung cancers at their earliest stages, when they are most treatable.

Tulane researchers Robert Dauchy, MS, (left) and David Blask, MD, PhD, (right) are collaborating with colleagues at Thomas Jefferson University on a newly funded Department of Energy grant that will examine how blue-enriched LED lighting compares with standard fluorescent lighting in measures of health.

Dr. Pedro Barata and his team undertook a retrospective study the largest reported to date, according to Barata to find racial differences in the molecular characterization of advanced prostate tumors using liquid biopsies.

This new robotic surgical platform allows the surgeon to explore through a single incision in the abdomen, rather than multiple entry ports. (Photo © 2021 Intuitive Surgical, Inc.)

Dr. James Jackson was recently awarded a five-year, $1.71 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for his unique adult mouse model that defies expectations.

Dr. Hong-Wen Deng is part of a research team that found that artificial intelligence can accurately detect and diagnose colorectal cancer from tissue scans as well or better than pathologists.

We Thank Our Community Supporters
Who Help Us to Continue Our Progress
Krewe de Pink Donates $27.5K to Breast Cancer Research Program
Mature man driving a car with protective mask