Executive Summary
The study of the structure and function of proteins and their interactions is critical to NCI’s mission to reduce the burden of cancer. Evidence suggests that measurements of proteins and peptides are reliable indicators of the abnormal cellular processes associated with cancer. As a result, proteomic technologies can be used to solve mission-critical problems in cancer research, including detecting cancer processes, finding targets for novel therapeutics, and determining biological markers of treatment response.
However, in recent years, studies that have applied current protein measurement technology — including mass spectrometry and affinity-based detection methods — to clinical applications have not been as robust as hoped. The hypothesis is not wrong: the issue lies in the variability of the technology and its use.
In order to address this serious limitation, NCI initiated a series of scientific and technical meetings that brought together leading cancer and proteomics experts, including scientists, physicians, clinicians, and engineers, to define the challenges facing clinical cancer proteomics and outline potential solutions. Working together with NCI scientists and program directors, these experts identified the most effective strategies that the NCI should take to help the field realize its potential for diagnosing, treating, and preventing cancer1,2. As a direct result of their work, as well as additional input from other members of the scientific community, NCI launched the Clinical Proteomic Technologies for Cancer in 2006.
Mission & Goals of the Clinical Proteomic Technologies for Cancer (CPTC)
The overall objective of this five-year, $104 million undertaking is to build the foundation of technologies, data, reagents and reference materials, analysis systems, and infrastructure needed to systematically advance our understanding of protein biology in cancer and accelerate discovery research and its clinical applications.
CPTC goals include:
- Enhancing and optimizing technical abilities to identify and measure proteins accurately and reproducibly in biological systems.
- Advancing proteomics as a reliable, quantitative field that can accelerate discovery and translational research.
Components of the Initiative
Clinical Proteomic Technology Assessment for Cancer comprise a multidisciplinary team network of leading proteomic centers that is conducting rigorous technology assessment and optimization; developing standard protocols and clinical reference sets; and evaluating methods to ensure data reproducibility.
Advanced Proteomic Platforms, Analytical Methods, and Computational Sciences supports investigator-initiated development of innovative new tools, reagents, and enabling technologies for protein/peptide measurement. It also supports enhanced algorithm development and computational methods to interrogate emerging pre-processed data sets.
Proteomic Reagents and Resource Core will serve the investigator community as a central public source for reagents, data, standards of practice, and other information developed in the course of the CPTC work.
For more information about CPTC, please download the Fact Sheet.
References:
1. Haab BB et al. (2006). A Reagent Resource to Identify Proteins and Peptides of Interest to the Cancer Community: A Workshop Report. Mol. Cell. Proteomics (in press).
2. Aebersold R et al. (2005). Perspective: A Program to Improve Protein Biomarker Discovery for Cancer. J. Proteome Res. 4: 1104-1109.
