On November 11, 2009 Susan Lee, Director of the Proteomics Core at the Saban Research Institute, held an open house and shared the results of her preliminary work.
Retinoblastoma International shares Dr. Linn Murphree’s goal of finding a more effective diagnostic tool for early detection of non-ocular cancers. Dr. Susan Lee is excited by her preliminary findings and the sensitivity of the mass spectrometer.
The goal of the program is to discover biomarkers for secondary non-ocular tumors of retinoblastoma. The initial work will focus on osteosarcoma.
Biomarkers, molecules that identify a particular cellular state or disease, are crucial for early detection, diagnosis and prognosis of disease. Protein biomarkers are often discovered by combining proteomics, the study of the protein complement of a cell state with mass spectrometry-based proteomics.
Dr. Lee seeks to identify biomarkers of osteosarcoma, one of the major secondary non-ocular tumors of retinoblastoma survivors.
Serum samples from control, osteosarcoma and retinoblastoma patients will be collected using protocol based on recommendations from the National Cancer Institute Early Detection Research Network.
Preliminary studies indicate the significant sensitivity of the mass spectrometer has identified six candidate osteosarcoma biomarkers.
Retinoblastoma International is a committed partner in the effort to raising funds that will be used to support proteomics research. For more information please contact us via info@retinoblastoma.net.
