Descrizione del progetto
Sviluppo di strumenti diagnostici economici per il rilevamento precoce del cancro al fegato
Il carcinoma epatocellulare è il tipo di cancro al fegato più comune, associato per lo più a persone affette da malattie epatiche di lunga durata e a quelle il cui fegato è segnato da un’infezione da epatite B o C. Nei paesi in via di sviluppo il carico elevato di questo carcinoma rappresenta una delle principali sfide per la salute pubblica. La prognosi dei pazienti affetti da carcinoma epatocellulare è estremamente sfavorevole e la diagnosi tempestiva è fondamentale per l’esito della malattia. Il progetto COCLICAN, finanziato dal programma di azioni Marie Skłodowska-Curie, si propone di sviluppare metodi efficaci ed economici di diagnosi precoce, utilizzabili da istituzioni sanitarie e pazienti dei paesi in via di sviluppo. Il gruppo di ricerca internazionale analizzerà i profili metabolomici di pazienti che hanno contratto l’epatite per individuare le molecole in grado di prevedere l’insorgenza del cancro al fegato.
Obiettivo
Hepatitis B (HBV) and C virus (HCV) are the most important etiologic agents of Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is the second leading cause of tumour related death in the world. The burden of HCC in developing countries represents a major challenge in global public health for the oncoming decades. Clinically, HCC patients have a very poor prognosis and high 5-year mortality rate except when detected early. As a result, HCC early detection is a critical parameter to anticipate the initiation of a tumour process, but affordable and discriminant diagnostic tools are lacking.
A consortium of European and Third Countries institutions (Peru and Laos) gathered within the project COCLICAN proposes to tackle this issue through the analysis of metabolomics serum profiles of a large cohort of HBV-HBC infected patients to delineate a bunch of molecules predictive of the emergence of liver cancer. The performance of a low-cost and open-source echo-stethoscope connected to a smartphone will also be assessed, to allow early detection of tumorogenesis in health care underserved areas.
This will be possible, thanks to the construction of a sustainable scientific and academic network of engineers, researchers and clinicians mobilised to exchange expertise, skills, technologies, biological material, deployed in three continents: Europe, South America and Asia.
COCLICAN has been designed to improve research collaborations, to reinforce capacities, to enhance knowledge of partners and students involved in the project, but also to raise awareness of policy makers and to participate to the innovation potential improvement at the European and global levels. COCLICAN will therefore respond to the health needs of left behind populations, all around the world.
Campo scientifico
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic health
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncologyliver cancer
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesDNA viruseshepatitis B
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesRNA viruseshepatitis C
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringinformation engineeringtelecommunicationsmobile phones
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-RISE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE)Coordinatore
13572 Marseille
Francia