EpiCblood
Financiado
Towards early cancer detection and tumor classification using epigenomic biomark...
Towards early cancer detection and tumor classification using epigenomic biomarkers in blood
Early cancer detection could increase curative treatment and long-term survival. Dying cells release small DNA fragments wrapped around a core of histone proteins into the bloodstream, so-called circulating cell-free nucleosomes (...
Early cancer detection could increase curative treatment and long-term survival. Dying cells release small DNA fragments wrapped around a core of histone proteins into the bloodstream, so-called circulating cell-free nucleosomes (cf-nucleosomes). They carry DNA sequence information and histone modifications stable in blood, reflecting promising epigenomic disease biomarkers. But, the low proportion of cf-nucleosomes originating from cancerous cells versus the large background of nucleosomes arising from dying blood cells poses significant challenges for early cancer detection using circulating cf-nucleosomes. In EpiCblood, I will tackle these challenges and propose two complementary strategies to increase the number of cancer-signature cf-nucleosomes for cancer detection and tumor classification. In the first strategy, I will employ my previously developed synthetic histone modification readers to profile abundant histone modifications on cf-nucleosomes allowing me to seize up to 35 percent of the human genome non-invasively. I will prove this technology’s concept by detecting earlier stages of pancreatic cancer and simultaneously classifying molecular tumor subtypes. Furthermore, I hypothesize that tumorigenesis gives rise to cancer-specific genomic sites decorated with combinatorial histone marks, so-called bivalent regions, found explicitly in cancer and not in healthy adult cell types. In the second strategy, I will employ a computational pipeline to map cancer-specific bivalent sites across multiple cancer genomes. I will use my well-established combinatorial histone mark readers to test their diagnostic potential as cancer-specific biomarkers in blood plasma from healthy donors and cancer patients. My genomics expertise and proven technology provide an excellent basis for accomplishing the planned goals. EpiCblood will be a major step towards developing precise and rich liquid biopsy assays for multiple clinical applications in cancer management.
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Duración del proyecto: 61 meses
Fecha Inicio: 2023-11-27
Fecha Fin: 2028-12-31
Fecha Fin: 2028-12-31
Línea de financiación: concedida
El organismo HORIZON EUROPE notifico la concesión del proyecto el día 2023-11-27
Línea de financiación objetivo
El proyecto se financió a través de la siguiente ayuda:
ERC-2023-STG:
ERC STARTING GRANTS
Cerrada
hace 2 años
Presupuesto
El presupuesto total del proyecto asciende a
1M€
Líder del proyecto
LUDWIGMAXIMILIANSUNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN
No se ha especificado una descripción o un objeto social para esta compañía.
Perfil tecnológico
TRL
4-5
Perfil tecnológico
TRL
4-5