New paradigms in translational science research in cancer biomarkers

Abstract

Despite significant investments in basic science by the US National Institutes of Health, there is a concern that the return on this investment has been limited in terms of clinical utility. In the field of biomarkers, translational research is used to bridge the gap between the results of basic research that identify biomolecules involved in or the consequence of carcinogenesis and their incorporation into medical application. The cultural separation between different scientific disciplines often makes it difficult to establish the multidisciplinary and multi-skilled teams that are necessary for successful translational research. The field of biomarker research requires extensive interactions between academic researchers and industrial developers, and clinicians are needed to help shape the research direction that can only be addressed by multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional approach. In this article, we provide our perspective on the relatively slow pace of cancer biomarker translation, especially those for early detection and screening.

False Biomarker Discovery due to Reactivity of a Commercial ELISA for CUZD1 with Cancer Antigen CA125

“…The path of a biomarker from the bench to the clinic is long and complex. Every step of this process holds numerous challenges, which, if not properly addressed, could put the whole pipeline at risk (4,5 ).…”

“…5 Our hypothesis was that proteins expressed uniquely by the pancreas would represent stronger candidate biomarkers for pancreatic cancer (analogous to prostate-specific antigen for prostate cancer). By using bioinformatic mining of gene expression and proteomic data, we previously identified 14 secreted or membranous proteins that were highly pancreas specific (7 ).…”

Modern Approaches to the Organization of Translational Research

“…Translational (operational) research -technologies, which allow adapting results of scientific studies to clinical practice [11].…”

The Early Detection Research Network: 10-Year Outlook

“…EDRN has fulfilled these expectations by establishing a process for biomarker development by using a multidisciplinary and multiinstitutional approach. This infrastructure, combined with the development of highly interactive databases and informatics systems, serves as a model for the conduct of translational research that is fully aligned with the goals and objectives of the NCI and the NIH communities (1 ).…”