BCMOLMED

Molecular Medicine for Bladder Cancer

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'BCMolMed integrates complementary and multi-disciplinary expertise of two main (research-intensive SME-academia) and five associate partners with the objective to generate a state of the art training platform on application-oriented biomarker research and systems biology. Special emphasis is placed on the efficient employment of proteomics and bioinformatics techniques to clinical research, and understanding clinical phenotypes in a spherical manner, in line to main EU research priorities. Research is applied to the identification of biomarkers and molecular determinants of bladder cancer recurrence and invasiveness, (with emphasis on extracellular matrix proteins), due to its clinical significance and availability of molecular data. The main industrial partner brings in commercial expertise and entrepreneurship, advanced proteomics technology and know-how on statistics, and a dynamic scientific commercial environment, highly complementing the academic partner bringing in knowledge on molecular biology and disease models disease, specific technologies and the “academic” ‘educational- focused” mentality. The associate partners provide complementary knowledge on molecular biology, systems biology, and clinical expertise and resources. Besides providing a solid scientific foundation in the fields of proteomics, bladder cancer research and systems biology, the training program has been designed to equip the ESRs with efficient cross-discipline communication skills capable to reach multiple target groups. A structured curriculum is proposed consisting of individual research projects, secondments between partners, and various training modules (courses, workshops, webinars). This integrative approach can be substantially beneficial and is expected to generate effective researchers and entrepreneurs in the fields of biomarker and drug target while providing valuable insight in bladder cancer molecular pathology and validated biomarkers.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Cancer diagnosis and monitoring would be easier if we could measure certain parameters associated with disease stage. In this respect, biomarkers in body fluids offer a significant advantage.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Bladder cancer is one of the most common malignancies that causes 165 000 deaths per year worldwide. Since the current treatment options are limited, we need to gain a better understanding of disease biology to design novel therapeutic strategies. To achieve this, biomarkers are required that can be associated with disease stage and implemented for monitoring the outcome of therapy.

In this context, the EU-funded http://www.bcmolmed.org/ (BCMOLMED) (Molecular medicine for bladder cancer) project proposes to use omics technologies to identify biomarkers for bladder cancer. During the first part of the project, scientists screened for urinary biomarkers of renal cell carcinoma. Results indicate that over 400 peptides are altered in bladder cancer most of which represent protease enzymes. Similar gene expression deregulation has been confirmed by previous reports.

Further proteomic analysis in the extracellular matrix associated with bladder cancer and invasion has identified various affected signalling pathways. This information will be carried on to the next phase of the project where functional biomarker validation will be performed. The consortium has also generated a database that includes information on the molecular features of bladder cancer from published reports and will be publicly available soon.

Considerable part of the programme is dedicated to training the young researchers in bladder cancer research. Apart from the individual research projects, the curriculum includes courses, workshops and webinars. The long-term goal is to prepare the next generation of researchers with expertise in biomarker and drug target discovery.

Most importantly, BCMOLMED partners envision the implementation of proteomics and other technologies in the personalised treatment of bladder cancer. Such a tailor-made approach would undoubtedly benefit patients, increasing their quality of life and improving outcomes.