Areas of innovation
Development of real time and liquid biopsy (blood) based cancer-specific biomarkers for early diagnosis, tumor evolution monitoring, prediction of response or resistance to targeted agents and prognostic prediction.
Unlike tissue biopsy, liquid biopsy is based on obtaining a sample in a convenient and minimally invasive manner at multiple time points over the course of disease. Liquid biopsy enables the noninvasive detection and characterization of cancer, prediction of treatment response, monitoring of disease relapse and identification of mechanisms of resistance to targeted therapies.
Liquid biopsy has made it possible to screen for pediatric cancer relapse in the early stages and has shown promise in the areas of tumor diagnostics, treatment and monitoring allowing a medical professional to make informed decision about treatment and helping prospective parents know whether their children are at higher risk or better prognosis. It can detect small numbers of nucleic acid targets allowing small sample earlier and more accurate diagnosis.
Overall, the translational relevance of the blood sample biomarkers in pediatric brain cancer lies in its potential to revolutionize diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment strategies. By enabling early detection, accurate classification, and personalized therapeutic interventions, biomarkers offer immense opportunities for improving patient outcomes and advancing our understanding of pediatric brain cancer.
Continued research and clinical implementation of the biomarkers hold significant promise for transforming the landscape of pediatric oncology.
By monitoring changes in biomarker expression during treatment, clinicians can evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions and make timely adjustments
Mastering the master regulators. Recurrence and metastasis are the main cause of death in pediatric patients. Using our molecular markers as treatment targets, we are conducting translational experiments with the goal of advancing a novel and powerful antitumor agent for killing the roots of metastasis and augmenting therapy in early stages of tumor recurrence.
We conduct molecular studies in pediatric brain cancer in aspects of the more recently discovered gene regulation mechanisms role in pathogenesis including micro RNA and long non coding RNA. In addition, we interrogate the bidirectional communication between medulloblastoma and the tumor microenvironment, including tumor vasculature and immune responses, to identify the molecular underpinnings of the medulloblastoma ecosystem and synergistic therapeutic paradigms.
Collectively, the study of medulloblastoma master regulators has provided novel insights into medulloblastoma biology useful in design of therapeutic paradigms.
Sensitizing pediatric glioblastoma tumors to chemotherapy treatment in hope of more efficient treatment.
Nano Particles Drug delivery to the brain. One of the main reasons current brain cancer treatments fall short is the difficulties associated with their administration and delivery to the brain.
At the BCMML, we use nanomedicine to overcome this challenge, developing an efficient system for controlled oral delivery of drugs for brain cancer treatment by conjugating them to acidic proteinoid NCs, enabling a targeted delivery that minimizes damage to healthy tissues and enhances therapeutic effectiveness.
