NanoOmics

NanoOmics: Nanoparticle-enabled multi-omic blood biomarker discovery in early stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Lead: Dr Marilena Hadjidemetriou, University of Manchester

Co-Lead: Prof. Parag Mallick, Stanford University

University of Manchester Collaborators: Prof. Kostas Kostarelos, Dr Phil Crosbie, Prof. Caroline Dive

Project Summary

Lung cancer is the world’s leading cause of cancer-related deaths. We know that when lung cancer is found at an early stage, patients can often be cured through early intervention. However, when lung cancer is found at a stage where it has already spread throughout the body, the chances of survival are often poor. Early cancer signs (‘markers’) can be found in the blood of cancer patients, however their very low levels makes it extremely difficult to detect them, like looking for a needle in a haystack. In this study, we will use tiny spheres, called nanoparticles, as a tool to ‘fish out’ cancer-specific signs from blood. When these nanoparticles are immersed in blood samples from cancer patients they spontaneously pick up hundreds of markers onto their surfaces (like fishing nets).

We will use this technology to investigate a group of patients with early stage lung cancer and we will analyse their blood samples before and after surgery. We believe with this approach we will be able to extract information from blood that in the future can aid in early lung cancer detection and disease monitoring.