(Press-News.org) Researchers from the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have received two grants totaling $9.1 million from the National Cancer Institute to advance liquid biopsy technologies for the early detection of cancer, which can significantly improve treatment outcomes and reduce the number of deaths caused by the disease.
A liquid biopsy is a promising non-invasive medical test using a small volume of blood that gives scientists insight into the genetic makeup of tumors. By analyzing these components, researchers can gain valuable information about the genetic mutations, alterations and other molecular changes associated with the presence of cancer.
“With the support from the grants, we will be advancing current tests by creating comprehensive approaches that combines multi-modality information to detect liver, colorectal, liver, lung, and stomach cancer early,” said lead principal investigator on the grants Jasmine Zhou, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and scientist in the Jonsson Cancer Center.
Developing a test for the early detection of liver cancer
For the first grant, the principal investigators Zhou, along with Dr. Steven-Huy Han, Dr. Samuel French and Dr. Vatche Agopian, all part of the Geffen School of Medicine and Jonsson Cancer Center, will develop and validate a method to integrate blood, imaging, and clinical data for the early detection of liver cancer. This liquid biopsy test could fill an urgent demand to benefit patients, who are at risk of developing liver cancer.
Liver cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Despite progress in reducing cancer mortality overall, liver cancer rates are increasing due to factors like obesity and alcohol abuse.
The team previously developed a highly sensitive and cost-effective method using cell-free DNA methylome for cancer detection, and they successfully tested it on a group of patients with liver conditions. They plan to expand their studies, refine their methods, and collaborate with other institutions to create a comprehensive approach that combines genetic, imaging, and clinical information to detect liver cancer early.
“The ultimate goal is to contribute to reducing the high mortality associated with liver cancer,” said Han.
Along with Zhou, Han and French, the UCLA team consists of Dr. Wenyuan Li and Weihua Zeng from pathology and lab medicine, Dr. Frank Alber from microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics, Dr. Jihane Benhammou, Dr. Gina Choi, Dr. Mohamed El Kabany, Dr. Sammy Saab, Dr. Akshay Shetty, and Dr. Jasleen Singh from hepatology, Dr. Sarah Dry from pathology, Dr. Kevin King, Dr. David Lu, Dr. Steven Raman, Dr. Kyung Sung and Dr. Holden Wu from radiology.
Multi-cancer early detection using cell-free DNA methylome analysis
The second grant focuses on improving the early detection of various cancers using the cell-free DNA methylome to detect and locate colon, gastric, liver, and lung cancers.
The principal investigators, which include Jasmine Zhou, Wenyuan Li and Dr. Robert Bresalier from MD Anderson Cancer Center, have already obtained promising results in preliminary studies, but plan to enhance the performance of the technology by refining how they analyze the data and validate its effectiveness in multiple clinical groups.
Additionally, they will collaborate with an industry partner to optimize the technology for wider clinical use and implement it in a secure cloud computing platform for decentralized testing.
“If successful, this test will be transformative in fighting against these types of cancers,” said Li.
The UCLA team also includes Han, Alber, Zeng, as well as Dr. Shuo Li from pathology and lab medicine, and Dr. Ashley Prosper from radiology.
END
UCLA scientists receive $9.1 million from the NCI to improve early detection methods for cancer
Researchers aim to develop effective and affordable liquid biopsy tests to help detect hard-to-treat cancers earlier when it’s easier to treat
2023-12-04
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Health Affairs’ December Issue: Global Lessons From COVID-19
2023-12-04
Washington D.C.—The December Health Affairs, a theme issue about the lessons learned around the globe from the COVID-19 pandemic, covers topics including how modeling was used to respond to the pandemic, how health inequities emerged and were addressed, and how countries tried to protect their vulnerable residents. The December issue of Health Affairs was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Merck Foundation.
There will be a Health Affairs briefing on Tuesday, December 5, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET. Register here.
COVID-19, a decline in FDA foreign facility inspections.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) halted ...
BioOne announces Subscribe to Open Pilot
2023-12-04
WASHINGTON D.C. – BioOne, the leading nonprofit aggregator in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences, today announces a bold plan to offer up to 80 society titles as part of a Subscribe to Open (S2O) pilot beginning in January 2026.
This decision, unanimously endorsed by the BioOne Board of Directors, follows 18 months of careful feasibility analysis and extensive interviews with BioOne’s community of society and library partners in search of an equitable and sustainable path to open.
BioOne will work with its publishing community throughout 2024 to encourage participation in the pilot, ...
Unveiling a new era of imaging: Boston University engineers lead breakthrough microscopy techniques
2023-12-04
When microscopes struggle to pick up faint signals, it’s like trying to spot subtle details in a painting or photograph without your glasses. For researchers, this makes it difficult to catch the small things happening in cells or other materials. In new research, Boston University Moustakas Chair Professor in Photonics and Optoelectronics, Dr. Ji-Xin Cheng and collaborators are creating more advanced techniques to make microscopes better at seeing tiny sample details, without needing special dyes. Their results, published in Nature Communications and Science Advances respectively, are helping scientists visualize and understand their samples in an easier ...
New wearable communication system offers potential to reduce digital health divide
2023-12-04
Wearable devices that use sensors to monitor biological signals can play an important role in health care. These devices provide valuable information that allows providers to predict, diagnose and treat a variety of conditions while improving access to care and reducing costs.
However, wearables currently require significant infrastructure – such as satellites or arrays of antennas that use cell signals – to transmit data, making many of those devices inaccessible to rural and under-resourced communities.
A group of University of Arizona researchers has set out to change that with a wearable monitoring device system that can send ...
In hotter regions, mammals seek forests, avoid human habitats
2023-12-04
The cool of the forest is a welcome escape on a hot day. This is especially true for mammals in North America’s hottest regions, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. The study indicates that, as the climate warms, preserving forest cover will be increasingly important for wildlife conservation.
The study, published today in the journal PNAS, found that North American mammals — from pumas, wolves and bears to rabbits, deer and opossums — consistently depend on forests and avoid cities, farms and other human-dominated ...
Leukemia cells activate cellular recycling program
2023-12-04
FRANKFURT. In a recent study, scientists led by Professor Stefan Müller from Goethe University’s Institute of Biochemistry II investigated a specific form of blood cancer known as acute myeloid leukemia, or AML. The disease mainly occurs in adulthood and often ends up being fatal for older patients. In about a third of AML patients, the cancer cells’ genetic material has a characteristic mutation that affects the so-called NPM1 gene, which contains the building instructions for a protein of the same name.
While it was already known that the mutated NPM1 variant (abbreviated as ...
Argonne and Idaho National Laboratories partner with CMBlu Energy for innovative long-duration energy storage project
2023-12-04
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, along with Idaho National Laboratory (INL), was chosen by the agency for a demonstration project to validate an innovative long-duration energy storage system developed by battery manufacturer CMBlu Energy. The collaborative project aims to improve microgrids in cold climates and make fast charging of electric vehicles more affordable in underserved communities.
Over the course of the project, Argonne and INL will deploy and evaluate CMBlu Energy’s Organic SolidFlow™ ...
CCNY researchers publish optical data storage breakthrough in Nature Nanotechnology
2023-12-04
Physicists at The City College of New York have developed a technique with the potential to enhance optical data storage capacity in diamonds. This is possible by multiplexing the storage in the spectral domain. The research by Richard G. Monge and Tom Delord members of the Meriles Group in CCNY’s Division of Science, is entitled “Reversible optical data storage below the diffraction limit” and appears in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
“It means that we can store many different images at the same place in the ...
Diet has a major impact on risk of Alzheimer’s disease
2023-12-04
December 4, 2023 San Francisco, CA: In a detailed study, Diet’s Role in Modifying Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease: History and Present Understanding published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, we can finally see which diets are helpful in reducing the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The role of diet in modifying the risk of Alzheimer’s disease is discussed in detail. Diets that are more plant based, like the Mediterranean diet and traditional diets in China, Japan, and India, are shown to reduce risk, especially ...
Study shows how ethical brands fare in a recession
2023-12-04
Peer reviewed - observational study - people
A new study from the University of East Anglia reveals why some ‘eco goods’ may fare better than others as a UK recession looms.
A new study, published today, shows that when money gets tight, people are more likely to keep up more expensive ethical purchases like buying fair trade products.
The study is one of the first to look at ethical purchases using actual market data from a major UK supermarket chain.
Lead researcher Dr Jibonayan Raychaudhuri, from UEA’s School of Economics, said: “As a possible UK recession looms closer, we wanted to better understand how people’s spending ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Cooler heads prevail: New research reveals best way to prevent dogs from overheating
UC Riverside medical school develops new curriculum to address substance use crisis
Food fussiness a largely genetic trait from toddlerhood to adolescence
Celebrating a century of scholarship: Isis examines the HSS at 100
Key biomarkers identified for predicting disability progression in multiple sclerosis
Study: AI could lead to inconsistent outcomes in home surveillance
Study: Networks of Beliefs theory integrates internal & external dynamics
Vegans’ intake of protein and essential amino acids is adequate but ultra-processed products are also needed
Major $21 million Australian philanthropic investment to bring future science into disease diagnosis
Innovating alloy production: A single step from ores to sustainable metals
New combination treatment brings hope to patients with advanced bladder cancer
Grants for $3.5M from TARCC fund new Alzheimer’s disease research at UTHealth Houston
UTIA researchers win grant for automation technology for nursery industry
Can captive tigers be part of the effort to save wild populations?
The Ocean Corporation collaborates with UTHealth Houston on Space Medicine Fellowship program
Mysteries of the bizarre ‘pseudogap’ in quantum physics finally untangled
Study: Proteins in tooth enamel offer window into human wellness
New cancer cachexia treatment boosts weight gain and patient activity
Rensselaer researcher receives $3 million grant to explore gut health
Elam named as a Fellow of the Electrochemical Society
Study reveals gaps in access to long-term contraceptive supplies
Shining a light on the roots of plant “intelligence”
Scientists identify a unique combination of bacterial strains that could treat antibiotic-resistant gut infections
Pushing kidney-stone fragments reduces stones’ recurrence
Sweet success: genomic insights into the wax apple's flavor and fertility
New study charts how Earth’s global temperature has drastically changed over the past 485 million years, driven by carbon dioxide
Scientists say we have enough evidence to agree global action on microplastics
485 million-year temperature record of Earth reveals Phanerozoic climate variability
Atmospheric blocking slows ocean-driven glacier melt in Greenland
Study: Over nearly half a billion years, Earth’s global temperature has changed drastically, driven by carbon dioxide
[Press-News.org] UCLA scientists receive $9.1 million from the NCI to improve early detection methods for cancerResearchers aim to develop effective and affordable liquid biopsy tests to help detect hard-to-treat cancers earlier when it’s easier to treat