DACCOTA Newsletter Spring 2021

Page 1

Spring 2021

Newsletter U N D p at h o l o g y p ro fe s s o r i d e nt i f i e s a n ove l b i o m a r ke r fo r c a n ce r u s i n g ‘d i g i t a l p at h o l o g y ’ Sandeep

Singhal,

Ph.D.,

"We found that both nuclear and cytoplasmic Kaiso proteins are

assistant professor in the UND

associated with breast cancer outcomes, and each are independent

School of Medicine & Health

predictors of overall breast cancer survival," Singhal said. "Specifically,

Sciences

of

patients stratified by nuclear and cytoplasmic Kaiso are enriched in

Pathology, DaCCoTA Scholars

Department

cell stress and immune response, which differentially predict survival

awardee, and director of the

based on genetic ancestry."

IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Sandeep Singhal

bioinformatics division, recently published

a

paper

in

The general findings presented in Singhal’s study highlight Kaiso’s potential as a predictive biomarker to guide future treatment decisions, particularly in the use of immunotherapy.

Communications Biology - Nature, one of the world’s leading journals

These results pave the way for future applications in prospective

in the natural sciences, on a potential novel biomarker for cancer.

studies where profiles of nuclear and cytoplasmic Kaiso can be

The paper, which explored the use of digital pathology to profile the subcellular distribution of the transcriptional regulator protein Kaiso (ZBTB33) in breast tumors from American women, found new connections between Kaiso and the autophagy-related proteins LC3A

evaluated in clinical trials as both a predictive and prognostic breast cancer biomarker. And because the predictive value of Kaiso varies across racial groups, these findings further emphasize the need for the inclusion of diverse racial and ethnic groups in clinical trials.

and LC3B, "that are associated with features of the tumor immune

"The future of this research is to identify the specific connections

microenvironment, survival, and race."

between pharmacogenetics and race/ethnicity and develop Kaiso as

These findings make Kaiso a possible biomarker for breast cancer risk management and predictor of progression.

a predictive genetic biomarker of overall breast cancer survival and response to therapy," Singhal concluded. "The next stage of this project is to validate the role of Kaiso as a unique predictive genetic

"Precision medicine is an emerging practice of medicine that

biomarker, characterize its functional linkage and association with

combines genomics, big data analytics, and population health to

tumor progression, genomic properties, features of the tumor

produce targeted therapies and guide decisions made in regard to the

microenvironment, and patient exposures through a racially diverse

prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, for cancer in

population with collaboration of different institutions."

particular," explained Singhal. "Racial diversity is tied to both our genetics and our environment, which is why we attempt to link genetics, ancestry, and disease, particularly when race is described in terms of continent of origin." This is why Singhal and his team sought to leverage "Artificial Intelligence-based automated image analysis algorithms" to the subcellular distribution of Kaiso in a racially diverse cohort of breast cancer patients.

Spring 2021 Vol. 1, No. 1

by Brian James Schill


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.