Background and ObjectivesThe identification of disease-specific biomarkers in bodily fluids such as blood and urine is especially important for diseases in which early detection is critical for improving prognosis, such as in cancer. Some types of biomarkers are also useful for monitoring patient response to treatment, or optimising the choice of treatment regimen for individual patients. The biomarker discovery process requires a large-scale effort, and is often limited by inadequate technology and the lack of data standards. The International Cancer Biomarker Consortium (ICBC),spearheaded by Dr Leland Hartwell, President and Director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, aims to launch a large-scale, coordinated effort to discover biomarkers for the early detection of cancer. The ICBC hopes to provide opportunities for collaboration and platforms for data and technology sharing among consortium members, so that the discovery process can be facilitated.

ActivitiesAs an ICBC member, Singapore's project aims to discover biomarkers for gastric cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide and the fourth most common cancer in males in Singapore. This project is a collaborative research effort involving groups from the National University Hospital (NUH), the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), the Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), and the Bioinformatics Institute (BII).

There are also plans to establish a Biomarkers Consortium within Singapore, which would bring together basic and clinical research groups working on biomarker discovery in cancer and other diseases. A consortium approach would facilitate specimen and data sharing, and would speed up the translation of biomarker discovery research to the clinic.

The current ICBC project draws upon the ongoing Gastric Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics Programme (GCEP) Cohort Study kick-started by the Singapore Cancer Syndicate (SCS). Future biomarker work on cancer and other diseases may leverage on clinical data and samples collected by the recently-established Singapore Consortium of Cohort Studies (SCCS).

Leadership

The project is led by Professor Sir David Lane, Executive Director of IMCB and A/Professor Yeoh Khay-Guan Associate Professor of Medicine, National University of Singapore and Consultant Gastroenterologist, National University Hospital. 
 
 
 

 
Adenocarcinoma formed by Runx3 -/- and p53 -/- gastric epithelial cells in mice. Cells with normal Runx3 are not tumorigenic.

For more information on the International Cancer Biomarker Consortium, please refer to http://www.fhcrc.org/science/international_biomarker/ .