Project description
Theranostic peptide tracers for better breast tumour diagnosis
Breast cancer causes over half a million deaths each year. Current diagnostic methods are often inadequate. Approximately 40 % of cases have already spread by the time they are diagnosed, and mammograms frequently produce false positives. Moreover, there is a lack of reliable tools to monitor treatment response or visualise tumours during surgery. The ERC-funded Peptide Tracers project aims to develop theranostic peptide tracers that target the oxytocin receptor (OTR), a promising approach for imaging, diagnosing, and treating breast cancer. OTR is overexpressed in difficult-to-treat cases, such as metastatic and triple-negative breast cancer. Building on previously developed OTR-specific peptide tracers, the project will refine their design and demonstrate their potential to visualise breast tumours.
Objective
Breast cancer impacts one in eight women globally, resulting in over half a million deaths each year. Current diagnostic methods fall short, with ~40% of breast cancers having already spread at the time of diagnosis and mammography often producing high rates of false positives. Additionally, there is a lack of reliable tools for monitoring treatment responses, tracking recurrences, or providing real-time tumour visualisation to aid surgical tumour removal.
This project addresses these challenges by developing theranostic peptide tracers targeting the oxytocin receptor (OTR), a promising new target for imaging, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. OTR is highly overexpressed in primary breast cancers, including metastatic and triple-negative cases, which remain difficult to treat. Our team has successfully developed potent, OTR-specific peptide tracers capable of visualising OTR in cells and tissues. Building on this progress, the project will refine and expand the design of these tracers and provide proof-of-concept data that they can be used to efficiently visualise and remove breast tumours.
Expected outcomes include theranostic tracers that can enhance breast tumour detection, support breast-conserving surgical tumour removal, and targeted radiotherapy, including subtypes that currently do not have targeted approaches. This combined approach of improved detection and targeted therapy has the scope to considerably enhance patient care, treatment options, and survival rates while reducing healthcare costs. The development of these tracers, supported by preclinical data and intellectual property protection, is expected to attract further investments and foster industry partnerships to accelerate clinical translation.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology breast cancer
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-POC
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1010 Wien
Austria
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