UC Davis researchers have received a $1.25 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to identify the biomarkers of kidney cancer. The funding makes possible a five-year project to find early indicators and a diagnostic test for the disease.
The research team will focus on identifying the metabolites, which are small molecules easily excreted by the kidneys, that are unique to kidney cancer. The ultimate goal is to develop a simple urine test that can be conducted in doctors' offices as part of routine examinations.
"Early diagnosis makes a huge difference in prognosis," said Robert Weiss, professor of nephrology at UC Davis, chief of nephrology at the Veterans Affairs Northern California Health Care System and principal investigator for the grant. "If the cancer is found early, patients have a remarkable chance of long-term survival. But a number of these cancers are detected much later, when treatment options are dismal and prognosis is poor. We want to be able to find these tumors as early as possible by quickly screening for them in primary care clinics
— just like we screen now for hypertension and diabetes."
In 2008, an estimated 54,390 new cases of kidney cancer were diagnosed and 13,010 deaths were attributed to the disease. For unknown reasons, the incidence of the disease is increasing among all groups. If diagnosed when confined to the kidney and treated with surgery, five-year survival is around 95 percent. Many kidney cancers, however, are asymptomatic and identified after metastasis occurs, when five-year survival is about 5 percent.
For the study, Weiss and his colleagues will conduct lab experiments to identify the chemical "fingerprint" of metabolic processes that go awry with kidney cancer. They will then screen for the presence of that fingerprint in the urine of patients with kidney cancer. Those results will be compared to urine tests of patients who do not have kidney cancer as well as to urine tests of patients with other types of cancer.
"This project is one of the first to put the science of metabolomics to use for any cancer and the first for kidney cancer and will ideally result in major advances in diagnosis and treatment," said Weiss.
Joining Weiss on the research team is Ian Thompson, professor of urology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio; and, all from UC Davis, Bertrand Perroud, project scientist, and Oliver Fiehn, associate professor in the Genome Center and Bioinformatics Program; Bruce Hammock, professor of entomology; Kyoungmi Kim, assistant professor of public health sciences; Ralph deVere White, director of the UC Davis Cancer Center; and Christopher Evans, professor of urology.
Designated by the National Cancer Institute, UC Davis Cancer Center's team of expert surgeons, medical oncologists and radiation therapists collaborate in the treatment of all urological cancers. A strong research component drives the urologic cancer program, and active participation in national clinical trials gives patients access to the newest treatment options. For more information, visit the cancer center Web site.
