Analysis content of the extracellular vesicles present in the plasma of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients for identification of molecular markers to treatment response

• Grant number: 15/21420-3
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): December 01, 2016
• Effective date (End): October 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Molecular Biology
• Principal researcher: Andre Luiz Vettore de Oliveira
• Grantee: Dorival Mendes Rodrigues Junior
• Home Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 17/24440-0 - Analysis of the extracellular vesicles present in the plasma of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas patients to identify molecular markers for treatment response, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

The head and neck cancer has a worldwide incidence of 500,000 cases per year, and the squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the most common variant. Previous data have shown that induction chemotherapy (IC) with cisplatin and paclitaxel followed by chemoradiotherapy (CRT) based on cisplatin is safe, well tolerated and provides a higher overall survival for the patients with locally advanced HNSCC (III-IV stage). However, approximately 30% of these patients does not respond to this treatment and there are no means to segregate sensitive patients to resistant. The presence of molecular markers in bodily fluids, such as plasma, can assist on this segregation. The recent discovery of extracellular vesicles (EV) loading proteins and nucleic acids into various body fluids may indicate an alternative route for the identification of new specific markers present in the plasma of patients with HNSCC. Therefore, the rational of this study assumes that EVs present in the plasma of HNSCC patients can carry molecules useful to predict the treatment response and the contents present analysis in these EVs populations may allow the identification of new markers able to predict responders and non-responders to IC and /or CRT. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

RODRIGUES-JUNIOR, DORIVAL MENDES; TAN, SOON SIM; LIM, SAI KIANG; VIANA, LUCIANO DE SOUZA; CARVALHO, ANDRE LOPES; VETTORE, ANDRE LUIZ; IYER, N. GOPALAKRISHNA. High expression of MLANA in the plasma of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma as a predictor of tumor progression. HEAD AND NECK-JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENCES AND SPECIALTIES OF THE HEAD AND NECK, v. 41, n. 5, p. 1199-1205, MAY 2019. Web of Science Citations: 0.

RODRIGUES-JUNIOR, DORIVAL MENDES; TAN, SOON SIM; VIANA, LUCIANO DE SOUZA; CARVALHO, ANDRE LOPES; LIM, SAI KIANG; IYER, N. GOPALAKRISHNA; VETTORE, ANDRE LUIZ. A preliminary investigation of circulating extracellular vesicles and biomarker discovery associated with treatment response in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. BMC CANCER, v. 19, APR 23 2019. Web of Science Citations: 2.