Validation of Novel Biomarkers of Response to Therapy with 5- Fluorouracil in Human Tumors

Host Organisation:	BiQ Laboratories Ltd
Partner Organisation(s):	PA1: University of Cyprus
Project Budget:	58.800,00€
IDEK Funding:	49.980,00€

Cancer is a multifaceted disease initiated, maintained and allowed to progress through multiple genetic alterations affecting a large number of signaling pathways and biochemical processes and ultimately causing uncontrolled cell proliferation and immortality. Chemotherapy is a mode of treatment widely used to treat cancer, and traditionally involves the use of nonspecific cytotoxic drugs that target rapidly proliferative cells, such as most tumor cells. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is one of the major drugs used in chemotherapy, as a single agent or in combination with other drugs. Despite recent advancements in cancer therapy, including new therapeutics and improvements in adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapies, the development of resistance to available anti-cancer drugs continues to represent a major limitation in patient treatment. Identification of putative biomarker molecules that could be used to identify 5-FU sensitive and resistant tumors and enable prediction of response to therapy would greatly facilitate the development of individualized treatment protocols thus reducing toxicity, lowering the cost of treatment, and ultimately improving disease-free and overall survival of cancer patients. The main objective of the project proposed here is to validate novel molecules we already identified as putative biomarkers of response to 5-fluorouracil, one of the most commonly used chemotherapeutic agent in the clinic.