Analysis of Serum Exsomes in Patients with Colorectal and Breast Cancer

目标/具体目标 该合作研究项目的长期目标是确定肿瘤特异性外泌体蛋白是否有助于乳腺癌和结直肠癌患者的诊断和/或管理。重要的是要强调，健康和疾病中血清外泌体的研究是一个新兴的研究领域，有许多未回答的问题。尽管在正常个体和癌症患者的血清中发现了外泌体，但尚不清楚这两个群体中血清外泌体的水平和/或组成是否存在定量和/或定性差异。在开始这项分析之前，重要的是要确定正常个体之间是否存在基于年龄，性别和种族的血清外泌体差异。这是重要的基线信息。然后，我们将确定正常个体和癌症患者之间的血清外泌体是否存在差异。我们将比较早期和晚期癌症患者，以及血清外泌体的组成是否会因治疗而发生变化。这些初步研究将有助于确定血清外泌体在乳腺癌和结直肠癌患者诊断和管理中的最终作用。

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS The long term goal of this collaborative research project is to determine whether tumor-specific exosomal proteins may aid in the diagnosis and/or management of patients with breast and colorectal cancer. It is important to emphasize that the study of serum exosomes in health and disease is a nascent field of inquiry and there are many unanswered questions. Although exosomes have been found in the serum of normal individuals and cancer patients, it is unknown whether there are quantitative and/or qualitative differences in the levels and/or the composition of serum exosomes in these two populations. Before embarking on this analysis, it will be important to determine whether there are differences in serum exosomes among normal individuals based on age, sex and race. This is important baseline information. We will then determine if there are differences in serum exosomes between normal individuals and cancer patients. We will compare patients with early stage and advanced cancers, and whether the composition of serum exosomes changes in response to treatment. These preliminary studies will help determine the ultimate role of serum exosomes in the diagnosis and management of patients with breast and colorectal cancer.