MelanOmics "Integrative analysis of omics data of melanoma metastases"
A melanoma is a malignant type of cancer that originates from the pigment-containing melanocytes of the skin. Up to 75% of stage IV melanoma patients develop brain metastases during the course of their disease. Brain metastases are associated with a median overall survival of only 3-6 months. Although there is concordance in the mutational landscape of intra- and extracerebral metastases, patients with brain metastases do not sufficiently respond to most therapies. This indicates specific resistance mechanisms. To identify new prognostic and predictive biomarkers and to uncover mechanisms responsible for the different behavior of melanoma brain metastases, we established a worldwide unique cohort of 27 pairs of intra- and extracranial metastases from patients with complete clinical follow up. In order to identify proteins and pathways that are associated with the different behavior of intra- and extracerebral metastases, we will compare the transcriptomes and epigenomes of these two classes of metastases to identify biomarkers that are associated with differences in clinical outcome. We will perform functional validation experiments with selected biomarkers to better characterize target proteins and pathways associated with treatment resistance. Overall, this project aims at the identification of new prognostic markers and potential molecular targets for future therapeutic approaches to treat melanoma patients with brain metastases. To realize this, the Bioinformatics Core Unit is responsible for the omics data analysis with the goal of identifying a characteristic molecular signature that distinguishes intra- and extracerebral metastases.
Involved Scientists
Publications
Funding
- National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Dresden, 02/2016 – 12/2018