STELLA.
Kit for patient stratification in lung cancer liquid biopsies

Inmaculada Ibáñez

  • PROJECT LEADER

    Inmaculada Ibáñez

  • HOST ORGANIZATION,
    COUNTRY

    Fundación para la Investigación Biomédica del Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain

  • DESCRIPTION

    Liquid biopsy has the potential to become a versatile gold standard in cancer diagnostics and monitoring. However, a lack of standardization measurements for exosome content normalization has restrained its implementation.

    The STELLA project (FirSt bio-Tool for Exosome normalization in Liquid biopsy and its clinical applicability for Lung cancer patient strAtification) aims to better predict cancer risk and treatment response.

    In 2016, an estimated 251 million people suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This disease increases lung cancer risk by 2- to 6-fold, regardless of smoking habits, and 60% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)—the most common lung cancer—are diagnosed at advanced stages when treatment failure is frequent.

    There are currently no biomarkers to identify COPD patients at greater risk of developing lung cancer, nor for predicting patient response to available therapies.

    The team has discovered the first universal endogenous control specific for the exosomal compartment, a novel exosomal biomarker for early NSCLC establishment, and a synergistic combination of exosomal biomarkers for the prediction of progression or response to treatment of NSCLC patients.