This week, the Office of Cancer Clinical Proteomics Research (OCCPR) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, announced its aim to further the convergence of proteomics with genomics – “proteogenomics,” to better understand the molecular basis of cancer and accelerate research in these areas by disseminating research resources to the scientific community.
Announced were Proteogenomic Translational Research Centers (PTRCs; RFA-CA-15-022), that will collaborate with NCI-sponsored clinical trials in coordination with NCI’s Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP) which coordinates the clinical therapeutics development program of the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD), NCI. PTRCs are anticipated to contribute to precision medicine/oncology by applying proteogenomics to questions of toxicity and resistance in clinical trials. Centers/Teams include Baylor College of Medicine and Broad Institute (focus on breast cancer); Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Mayo Clinic (focus on epithelial ovarian cancer); and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Oregon Health & Science University (focus on acute myeloid leukemia).
This announcement follows the recently launched Proteome Characterization Centers (PCCs; RFA-CA-15-021) and Proteogenomic Data Analysis Centers (PGDACs; RFA-CA-15-023), that comprehensively characterize biospecimens and integrate/analyze resulting proteogenomic data to extrapolate cancer knowledge. Centers/Teams include: PCCs (Broad Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory), and PGDACs (Baylor College of Medicine, Broad Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York University School of Medicine/Washington University in St. Louis/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and University of Michigan).
These proteogenomic centers of excellence (PCCs, PGDACs, and PTRCs) form the interdisciplinary pillars of NCI’s Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC). For a listing of teams, click here.