CANCERS and viruses. These are the targets at the center of the three “precision” research projects that will soon kick off in Lazio, thanks to funding from Lazio Innova, an in-house company of the Lazio Region. The first, of which the Regina Elena Cancer Institute is the coordinator, stems from an idea developed with the Sapienza University, to ‘redesign’ cancer diagnostics in a non-invasive way, with liquid biopsy. The project aims to develop new equipment that uses light to ‘read’ the status of the ERBB2 gene in patients with a particular subtype of breast cancer.
Breast cancer: genes in real time
“There are already many ways to diagnose if ERBB2, a famous cancer gene, is ‘activated’, and therefore can be counteracted with molecularly targeted drugs – explains the coordinator. Patrizio Giacomini, of the research unit of Oncogenomics and Epigenetics of Regina Elena – but what we want to do is to adapt conventional diagnostics to a versatile format that, being able to work both with traditional biopsy on tissue and above all on blood, with liquid biopsy in fact , makes it easily performed in a non-invasive and repeatable way several times during the history of the disease. This will allow us to update the ‘ERBB2 status’ in real time, and thus adjust the scope of possible specific therapies. Both those already available and the new and more powerful ones that gradually make their way ”.
Coronavirus, rapid triage is done with “light”
The second project, coordinated by Sapienza University of Rome, is also dedicated to diagnostics and aims to carry out a test dedicated to non-infectious hospital environments thanks to the use of an innovative instrument with a photonic configuration, that is, it uses light, but this time for the rapid and efficient detection of antibodies characteristic of the response against the Sars-Cov-2 virus. “This is a completely new technology for the serological diagnosis of COVID-19 positive patients – explain the coordinator Francesco Michelotti of the Department of Basic and Applied Sciences for Sapienza Engineering, Matteo Allegretti, IRE researcher e Laura Conti, Head of Clinical Pathology IRE: “A unique and versatile tool, capable of accurately detecting antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in less time, with greater resolution and at lower costs than is currently available. they are crucial especially for non-infectious hospitals, such as oncological ones, which could use this method as a rapid screening to filter access “
Lung cancer, omics technologies to study the tumor microenvironment
The third project, also coordinated by Sapienza, aims to identify and validate new therapeutic targets present in the immune tumor microenvironment and responsible for the progression of the disease and resistance to immunotherapeutic drugs. To this end, modern “omics” technologies are used, combined with bioinformatic analyzes for the characterization of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. In this way, the metastatic lung tumor microenvironment is studied for the identification of new targets for immunotherapy, it is coordinated by Rita Mancini, Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine Sapienza University of Rome, in collaboration with Paola Nisticò, Head of the research unit of Immunology and Immunotherapy IRE, e Maurizio Fanciulli, Head of the SAFU IRE research unit. “Using malignant pleural effusions – explain the researchers – we will recreate systems ex vivo as close as possible to the patients’ tumors. The experimental program will allow us to conceive new and more effective therapeutic combinations ”.