Molecular Predictors of Lung Adenocarcinoma Survival (HJF 602-21)

Research by Henry M. Jackson Foundation (HJF), Uniformed Services University (USU), and Defense Health Agency (DHA) scientists focused on identifying protein and RNA expression signatures that can differentiate between aggressive and metastasis-free lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) tumors. These signatures were validated against National Cancer Institute’s Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) cohort.

Applications and Advantages

Can apply to small volume biopsies in which pathological assessment is not possible

Innovation Description

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the world and has caused about 1.8 million deaths in 2020. The most common type of lung cancer in the US is lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), a subtype of non-small cell lung cancer. There is little ability to differentiate between individuals with very aggressive and curable LUAD due to the limits of clinical and pathologic information. Knowledge of a patient's risk for LUAD disease could be used to inform the clinical management of LUAD disease and improve patient outcomes.

Figure 1: Correlation of expression value of proteins and RNA to patient risk score.

Investigation of RNA and protein expression signatures that predict overall survival (OS, survival form time of treatment initiation) and metastasis-free survival (MFS, survival from treatment initiation until recurrence or worsening) in LUAD tumors was to evaluate the aggressiveness level of the disease in a US population cohort. The signatures are multiplied by the weight of a protein or an RNA from an LUAD tumor and added with other signatures to make a risk score. High scores indicate a greater risk of shorter survival while low score indicate a lower risk of shorter survival. This technology can help health care workers to efficiently evaluate the level of severity of lung cancer in patients to aid in the clinical management of the disease.

Inventors

Dr. Matthew D. Wilkerson, Ph.D. HJF-USU
Dr. Robert F Browning Jr, M.D. DHA
Dr. Craig Shriver, M.D., FACS, USU

Innovation Status

Identified signatures were validated against the datasets of the NCI’s Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) cohort. Please see Cell Reports Medicine, 3,11, 2022, 100819.