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Predictive Biomarkers for Metastatic
Potential in Breast Cancer
Background: Within her
lifetime, one of every eight women will confront a
diagnosis of breast cancer. While we acknowledge that
the term “cancer” is a “catch-all” for
a number of different diseases with varying etiologies
and probable outcomes, we have limited ability to discriminate
and prescribe appropriate treatment. One fundamental
differentiator for treatment options is the likelihood
of metastasis. An improved understanding of the prognosis
may enable appropriate therapies, which will be critical
to improving survival rates and quality of life for
women and physicians confronting this disease.
Technology: Using copyright
software and novel methods, UCSD inventors have defined
a proprietary set of biomarkers that enhance the ability
to predict the likelihood that a tumor will metastasize
within 5 years. The method is based in the reality
that cancer is a ‘disease of interactive pathways'
and the assumption that keys for understanding the
disease are encoded in protein networks. It is anticipated
that these diagnostic biomarkers will improve the intelligence
about a patient’s likely outcomes and most appropriate
therapeutic options.
Advantages: While there are
biomarkers in clinical use, this technology is differentiated
by:
- its basis in genes causing vs. correlating with
cancer
- the ability to predict outcomes as opposed to taking
a snapshot diagnosis
- improved accuracy in diagnosis of metastasis on
patients from a large independent study (Wang et
al.)
- use of "Network" biomarkers which, unlike
classical and microarray-based diagnostic systems,
tie marker genes to known genes causative for disease.
Copyright, Patents Pending
References and Supplemental Information:
Related Case: http://invent.ucsd.edu/technology/cases/2006/SD2006-131.htm
Inventor Interests: http://chianti.ucsd.edu/idekerlab/index.html
News Release: http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/news_events/releases/release.sfe?id=528
Keywords: cancer, diagnosis,
diagnostic, therapeutic, model. software, pathways,
protein, network, module, target, breast
Case No: SD2008-084
Inquiries To: invent@ucsd.edu
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