2016 Scientific Report

Other research is aimed at further improving the biomarker
tests. The results so far suggest that each individual
biomarker arises from a distinct subpopulation of cancer
patients and from a characteristic cell type. This finding is
important because the biomarkers may reveal differences
between subgroups of tumors—a possibility we are
exploring in the research described below. For the purpose
of improving our blood tests, determining the characteristics
of the cells that produce each biomarker, as well as of the
cells that do not produce any of our biomarkers, will help to
optimize a blood test to accurately identify cancers across
the entire spectrum of patients.
The ultimate goal is to get the new tests established in
clinical laboratories in order to benefit patients. To that
end, we are working with industry partners to transfer our
biomarker assays to the clinical laboratory setting and to
begin analyzing patient samples received consecutively
from clinical sites. If we have good results, we hope to
initiate clinical trials for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer
and, eventually, for evaluations of surveillance among
people at elevated risk for pancreatic cancer.
Better treatment through subtyping
Pancreatic cancer characteristics, such as the cell types
within the tumor, the amount of metastasis, the responses
to treatments, and overall outcomes, vary greatly among
patients. So far, identifying the underlying causes of such
differences and predicting the behavior of individual tumors
have not been possible. If we could determine what drives
the differences between the tumors or identify molecules
that help predict the behavior of each tumor, we could
establish better treatment plans for each patient or
determine the drugs that work best against each subtype.
Our research is revealing major groupings of tumors
based on the carbohydrates on the surface of, and in
the secretions from, cancer cells. The carbohydrates are
related to the CA19-9 antigen and have distinct biological
functions. In current research we want to determine the
molecular nature of the subgroups of cells and whether
the subgroups have different levels of aggressiveness or
different responses to particular drugs. We are using new
approaches for measuring carbohydrates and proteins
in tumor tissue, and we are employing powerful new
software—introduced in our recent publication in Analytical
Chemistry—to examine the cell types that produce
each carbohydrate-based biomarker. We are using that
information to evaluate whether certain types of cells
predict clinical behavior. As advances and new options
in treatments become available, this type of research is
increasingly important for guiding clinical decisions. We
are working closely with our physician collaborators to
evaluate on a case-by-case basis the value of the molecular
information and to guide our research toward improving the
tests. Ultimately, physicians could use the molecular tests
on material from biopsies, surgical resections, or blood
samples.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Ensink, Elliot, Jessica Sinha, Arkadeep Sinha, Huiyuan Tang, Heather M. Calderone, Galen Hostetter, Jordan Winter, David
Cherba, Randall E. Brand, et al. 2015. Segment and fit thresholding: a new method for image analysis applied to microarray and
immunofluorescence data. Analytical Chemistry 87(19): 9715–9721.
Singh, Sudhir, Kuntal Pal, Jessica Yadav, Huiyuan Tang, Katie Partyka, Doron Kletter, Peter Hsueh, Elliot Ensink, Birendra KC, et
al. 2015. Upregulation of glycans containing 3' fucose in a subset of pancreatic cancers uncovered using fusion-tagged lectins.
Journal of Proteome Research 14(6): 2594–2605.
Tang, Huiyuan, Sudhir Singh, Katie Partyka, Doron Kletter, Peter Hsueh, Jessica Yadav, Elliot Ensink, Marshall Bern, Galen
Hostetter, et al. 2015. Glycan motif profiling reveals plasma sialyl-Lewis X elevations in pancreatic cancers that are negative for
CA19-9. Molecular & Cellular Proteomics 14(5): 1323–1333.
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Van Andel Research Institute | Scientific Report