George Adrian Calin. M.D., Ph.D. University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

GENETICS

Development of a new diagnostic and prognostic assay for CLL patients- quantification of plasma/serum microRNAs

Grant Awarded in 2011

Abstract:

Despite the frequency of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and decades of research, its molecular architecture still remains a mystery. However, recent discoveries will soon change our knowledge of CLL. A new class of genes called microRNAs (miRNAs), a type of small, non-coding gene with regulatory functions, has been found to be profoundly altered in the majority of CLL patients.

The purpose of this project is to decipher if miRNAs in plasma/serum (the liquid part of the blood in which cells are suspended) of CLL patients could be used as: 1) diagnostic and prognostic markers, 2) markers of response to therapy and 3) markers of residual disease or recurrence. The specific focus for this project is to determine the levels of miRNAs in the plasma/serum in large sets of CLL patients.

Plasma/serum is easily obtainable from patients for both research and clinical purposes, as it can be collected through minimally invasive blood tests. This will be the first study focusing on the identification of the clinical significance of the miRNA levels in plasma/serum in CLL patients. If successful, the study results could lead to a useful new diagnostic tool.