Development of a serological test for early diagnosis and monitoring of cancer

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In Canada, cancer accounts for 30% of all deaths, and half of all Canadians will develop cancer in their lifetime. Many cancers can be prevented or controlled through early detection, but the availability of such tests is scarce and a reliable general biomarker for different types of cancers has not been yet discovered. Moreover, cancer survivors are at greater risk of developing a second cancer, and affordable and safe monitoring for the rest of their lives is not available. We propose the development of a serological test for early diagnosis of cancer based on the activity of an enzyme that is upregulated in cancer tissues. This enzyme is able to modify a drug approved by the FDA termed amantadine, which can be measured in urine. We also propose to validate the performance of the kit in clinical samples of patients with lung cancer. Moreover, through our network of collaborators, we expect to distribute the methodology in different points of care in Canada and abroad (USA and Bangladesh).
This project is innovative because it uses inexpensive antibodies produced in bacteria against the modified amantadine detected in urine.

Faculty Supervisor:

Horacio Bach

Student:

Rim Alyeldin Hassan Noureldin Aly

Partner:

BioMark Technologies Inc

Discipline:

Medicine

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of British Columbia