Metabolomic Profile of Lymphovascular Invasion in Bladder Cancer

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Friedrich-Carl von Rundstedt
• Subject Area: Reproductive Medicine, Urology
• Term: from 2013 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 240920330

Urothelial Carcinoma of the bladder is the fourth most common cancer in men in the United States and in Germany. For patients with high-grade non muscle-invasive cancer the transurethral resection of the bladder tumor is the treatment of choice in combination with an intravesical therapy. Up to half of these patients however will progress to muscle-invasive disease. The risk of progression seems to be correlating with the risk of an understaging at the time of the diagnosis. Non muscle-invasive disease can present with lymphovascular invasion (LVI) that has been shown to play a vital role in the development of metastatic disease. These patients are at an increased risk for recurrence even after an early cystectomy. It is under discussion whether these patients should be offered an early cystectomy and possibly a neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Biomarkers that can predict lymphovascular invasion and even metastatic disease undetected by clinical staging would be invaluable in prognosticating both the extent and course of disease and could be used for identification of patients most likely to benefit from an early cystectomy and possibly a neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. In preliminary studies of Dr. Sreekumar`s group at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston (Texas, USA) a mass spectrometry-based approach was employed to identify BCa-specific metabolic signatures. These lay the foundation for this proposal. Supported by this grant, the applicant aims to pursue a 1-year research fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Sreekumar in order to establish a marker panel that helps to identify LVI in patients with newly diagnosed bladder cancer.Hypothesis:Metabolic alterations can be correlated with Bladder Cancer progression. Tumor-associated metabolic fingerprints have the potential to serve as prognostic and predictive markers. The specific aims of this proposal are: Aim 1. Develop metabolomic profiles in tissue and urine that correlate with lymphovascular invasion in Bladder Cancer.Aim 2. Build a non-invasive multiplex metabolic urine based biomarker panel for the detection of lymphovascular invasion within the bladder tumor.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Dr. Seth Paul Lerner
• Participating Person: Dr. Arun Sreekumar