McDevitt Group Cancer Research

Cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States with 1.4 million new cases and 566,000 deaths attributed to the disease in 2006.  The challenges in this broad area of health care include prevention, early detection, and effective treatment.  Recent work in our laboratory, in conjunction with the saliva diagnostics program and NIDCR, has targeted the unique field of gynecologic carcinomas including breast, cervical, and ovarian.  These specific maladies are of high import due to their broad scope and high virulence. 

• Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second- most common cause of cancer death (after lung cancer) in American women with 214,000 new cases in 2006.
• Though less common than breast cancer, prognosis for ovarian cancer is poor, with a 5-year survival rate of 45%.
• Despite the widespread use of the Pap screen, 3,700 deaths in 2006 were attributed to cervical cancer.  Furthermore, the reliance on a human visual interpretation of the smear frequently results in false negative or false positive results. 

We envision a lab-on-a-chip platform in which a multiplexed analysis device is used in tandem with existing well-woman exam practices such as mammography and the Pap screen to provide a more detailed snapshot of patient health. This platform would include a number of cancer biomarkers including carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cancer antigen 125 (CA 125), and Her-2/Nu.  Upregulation of these proteins may signify tissue transformation towards a malignant state.  Although individually, these proteins lack the specificity needed as a screening technique, they serve to better elucidate the patient’s overall gynecological health when considered in addition to a physical examination. Furthermore, we see this platform extended to pre-existing cancer cases to monitor response to treatment and overall prognosis throughout the therapeutic regimen.
Preliminary work using our lab-on-a-chip (LOC) platform has allowed for quantitation of all three of these biomarkers to levels comparable to or superior to traditional systems such as ELISA. Along with our collaborators, we have begun correlation studies to examine the relationship between serum and saliva concentrations eventually leading to less evasive sampling methods and shorter turnaround time. 

Source:  Cancer Facts and Figures 2006, American Cancer Society