{{Short description, Cancer biomarker discovery project
The Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) is a collaboration led by the
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...
(NCI) focused on the discovery of
cancer biomarker
A cancer biomarker refers to a substance or process that is indicative of the presence of cancer in the body. A biomarker may be a molecule secreted by a tumor or a specific response of the body to the presence of cancer. Genetic, epigenetic, pr ...
s. The effort, started in 2000, includes both principal investigators and associate members from leading research institutions across the United States.
The objectives of EDRN include:
* Developing and testing promising biomarkers and technologies to obtain preliminary information to guide further testing;
* Evaluating promising, analytically proven
biomarker
In biomedical contexts, a biomarker, or biological marker, is a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition. Biomarkers are often measured and evaluated using blood, urine, or soft tissues to examine normal biological processes, ...
s and technologies, such as measures of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and, when possible, as potential predictors of outcomes or surrogate endpoints for
clinical trial
Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...
s;
* Analyzing biomarkers and their expression patterns to serve as background for large, definitive validation studies;
* Collaborating with academic and industrial leaders to develop high-throughput, sensitive
assay
An assay is an investigative (analytic) procedure in laboratory medicine, mining, pharmacology, environmental biology and molecular biology for qualitatively assessing or quantitatively measuring the presence, amount, or functional activity of a ...
methods;
* Conducting early phases of clinical and
epidemiological
Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population.
It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...
biomarker studies; and
* Encouraging collaboration and
dissemination
To disseminate (from lat. ''disseminare'' "scattering seeds"), in the field of communication, is to broadcast a message to the public without direct feedback from the audience.
Meaning
Dissemination takes on the theory of the traditional view ...
of information to ensure progress and avoid fragmentation of effort.
Since 2000, EDRN has established a national infrastructure to support validation of cancer biomarkers through innovative research and technology approaches. EDRN supports validation of some of the most promising proteomic and genomic markers evaluating their results for continued research. The biomarkers must be reliable and repeatable in testing; highly sensitive and specific; quantitative; readily obtained by
non-invasive
A medical procedure is defined as ''non-invasive'' when no break in the skin is created and there is no contact with the mucosa, or skin break, or internal body cavity beyond a natural or artificial body orifice. For example, deep palpation and pe ...
methods; part of the causal pathway for disease; capable of being modulated by the
chemopreventive
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
agent; and have high predictive value for clinical disease.
The EDRN is organized to perform research around specific organ sites. Research teams within and outside EDRN are established to develop protocols of study around each of these organ sites. Within the EDRN, collaborations are established so researchers involved in specific organs can work together and study results. These organ groups include
breast
The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues.
In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and secret ...
colorectal
The large intestine, also known as the large bowel, is the last part of the gastrointestinal tract and of the digestive system in tetrapods. Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste material is stored in the rectum as feces before being ...
Lung
The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...
and upper aerodigestive cancers,
prostate
The prostate is both an Male accessory gland, accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found only in some mammals. It differs between species anatomically, ...
and other urologic cancers.
The EDRN also has been a pioneer in the development of a national informatics infrastructure to support cancer biomarker research. By leveraging technology development for planetary science at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the EDRN has been able to develop and deploy an infrastructure to support
data sharing
Data sharing is the practice of making data used for scholarly research available to other investigators. Many funding agencies, institutions, and publication venues have policies regarding data sharing because transparency and openness are consid ...
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, formerly known as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and also known as Fred Hutch or The Hutch, is a cancer research institute established in 1975 in Seattle, Washington.
History
The center grew out o ...
, and
Dartmouth Medical School
The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth is the graduate medical school of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The fourth oldest medical school in the United States, it was founded in 1797 by New England physician Nathan Smith. It is o ...