Genomic and metagenomic profile of penile cancer: identification and characterization of potential prognostic biomarkers

• Grant number: 22/12745-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: August 01, 2023
• End date: July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Human and Medical Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Wilson Araújo da Silva Junior
• Grantee: Wilson Araújo da Silva Junior
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Gyl Eanes Barros Silva ; Israel Tojal da Silva ; João Paulo Bianchi Ximenez ; Jorge Luis Bazan Guzman ; José Augusto Baranauskas ; Luciano Neder Serafini ; Rodolfo Borges dos Reis ; Valeria Valente

Abstract

Penile cancer, although considered rare in developed countries, has high rates in developing countries. In Brazil, the state of Maranhão has the highest national and global incidence of the disease ever recorded, followed by the states of Pará and Amazonas. The lack of knowledge about its genetic and molecular basis and the absence of targeted therapies that prevent progression to lymph node metastasis, a condition that considerably reduces patient survival, are the leading causes of the low efficiency of penile cancer treatment. The present study aims to raise some therapeutic targets using NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) approaches to identify and characterize genomic and metagenomic signatures in penile squamous cell carcinoma with lymph node metastasis in a cohort from the state of Maranhão. For this, primary tumor tissue samples and metastatic lymph nodes will be collected from patients diagnosed with penile cancer treated at three hospitals in Maranhão. These patients will be characterized in the socio-behavioral, clinical and histopathological scope. With this collaborative study that brings together the expertise of the group from the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto/USP and the Federal University of Maranhão, we will have a productive scientific environment to contribute to the identification of potential genetic markers of predictive or therapeutic value applied to the treatment of cancer of the penis. (AU)