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Using DNA Data to Identify Tumor Types

NRC-IIT researcher Dr. Nabil Belacel, working with partners from the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute (ACRI) has developed powerful algorithms to help in the analysis of tumor types for the detection of prostate cancer. This is not only a scientific success, as Dr. Belacel’s discovery is pending patent approval, but it also implies significant impact to Canadian social and public health concerns. The project started in 2003, and has resulted in the development of new data mining tools that are useful for classification of multiple tumor types using gene expression generated from DNA microarray data.

This project has also contributed to the development of the Cancer Populomix Institute, in which NRC-IIT is a founding partner, and which will be headquartered at the National Research Council in Fredericton.

The Cancer Populomix Institute will work to identify biomarkers, the indicators that someone may have cancer. The hope is that in isolating these markers, cancer can be detected sooner, when patients have the best shot at beating the disease. “The early detection of disease requires an improvement in our ability to diagnose disease”, said Dr. Hartwell, Nobel Prize winner and chair of the Cancer Populomix Institute’s advisory committee.
Source: “Nobel Prize winner to advise new cancer research institute”, New Brunswick Telegraph, February 1, 2006.

98% Accuracy for Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

One in seven Canadian men will contract prostate cancer in his lifetime, and an estimated 4200 will die from it in 2006. One of the major challenges in administering effective cancer treatment has been to target specific therapies to specific tumor types. The current benchmark for the detection of prostate cancer is a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, whose effectiveness has come under increased scrutiny.

NRC-IIT researcher Dr. Nabil Belacel, along with collaborators from ACRI, has been working on developing methods that will assist in the analysis of DNA microarray data to detect prostate cancer among patients. DNA microarray expression experiments allow for the recording of simultaneous expression levels of thousands of genes simultaneously, thus permitting a genome-wide approach to cancer diagnosis and treatment. The research team has identified the panel of eight genes with result in 98% accuracy in sample diagnosis of prostate cancer tumors. These eight diagnostic marker genes were determined using a methodology based upon fuzzy classification and multiple criteria decision analysis methods developed by the inventors.

This dramatic increase in effectiveness and accuracy promises numerous benefits including reduced health costs resulting from more precise diagnosis, reduced patient discomfort caused by invasive biopsies used in typical PSA tests, and increased effectiveness of core needle biopsy tests when supported by the marker panel algorithm tool. Earlier and more effective diagnosis of cancer may ultimately contribute to a decrease in number of lives lost to this disease, and will help revolutionize the way malignancies are categorized and treated.

45 million PSA tests are performed annually around the world, representing a substantial market for the technology developed by NRC-IIT and ACRI. At an estimated cost of 100 USD per test (based on competitive market price), the potential worldwide market for this technology is $4.5 billion US for prostate cancer alone.

Dr. Belacel’s research projects are part of local cluster initiatives, and include partners from ACRI, the University of Moncton, the University of New Brunswick, Dalhousie University, the University of Sherbrooke, and will contribute to the Canadian Populomix Cancer Institute, in which the NRC is a co-founder. NRC-IIT’s work on this project also shows potential for future collaborations with other NRC institutes working in the field of biodiagnosis (NRC-IBD) or biotechnology (NRC-BRI). A patent has been filed for the DNA microarray markers for prostate cancer, and the research team is already looking at applying this technology to colon cancer, with another patent application underway.

This advance in tumor classification and analysis can not only lead to dramatic improvements in cancer detection and treatment regimes, but shows potential for application across a spectrum of disease issues. The potential for this development is significant not only for Canadians, but for the global society.

Contact

Dr. Nabil Belacel
Research Officer
Health Initiative
NRC Institute for Information Technology
55 Crowley Farm Road, Suite 1100-C, Scientific Park
Moncton, NB E1A 7R1
Telephone: +1 (506) 861-0963
Fax: +1 (506) 851-3630
E-mail: Nabil.Belacel@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca