NewsRelease
TwoBiotech Support Group Publications are Cited in a Journal ArticleValidatingthe Prognostic Effect of the Tumor-Stroma Ratio
MONMOUTHJUNCTION, NJ, May7, 2024 -- Biotech Support Group (BSG) reports that two of theirjoint authorship journal articles were cited in the supportingdiscussion from the research article:
Polack,M., et al. "Results from the UNITED study: a multicenter studyvalidating the prognostic effect of the tumor–stroma ratio in coloncancer." Currenttreatment guidelines for colon cancer are traditionally based onextent of disease, expressed through the TNM (tumor-node-metastasis)classification, as well as risk assessments for patient outcome andexpected benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT). However, theprognostic capacity of TNM staging remains suboptimal. So thereremains a clinical need to improve individualized ACT indicationsupfront through additional prognostic biomarkers. For this, the TNM(tumor-node-metastasis) Evaluation Committee of Union forInternational Cancer Control (UICC) and College of AmericanPathologists (CAP) recommended to prospectively validate thecost-effective and robust tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) as an independentprognostic parameter, since high intratumor stromal percentages havepreviously predicted poor patient-related outcomes.
Thetumor-stroma ratio (TSR) is a histopathological parameter based onthe amount of stroma expressed in percentages compared to the tumorepithelial component, and was initially developed in colon cancer,but has repeatedly been shown to be of prognostic value for almostall epithelial cancers. The article concludes that the multicenterUNITED study unequivocally validates the TSR as an independentprognosticator, confirming worse outcomes in stroma-high patients.The TSR improved current selection criteria for patients at risk ofevents, and stroma-high patients potentially experienced chemotherapyresistance. TSR implementation in pathology diagnostics andinternational guidelines is highly recommended as aid in personalizedtreatment. Importantly, future studies should focus on tumorstroma-targeted therapeutic regimens or strategies, as this studyshows a lack of benefit of stroma-high colon cancer to ACT, revealinga clear clinical need for new treatment options for these patients.Similar to ACT, tumors with high amounts of tumor stroma also havebeen observed to respond less to immunotherapeutic strategies.
Inthe Discussion Section the article recognizes two BSG co-authoredarticles, stating “Many biomarkers have emerged in the pastdecades, as researchers are aiming to better predict tumor behaviorand patient outcomes. One such emerging biomarker is liquid biopsy,measuring circulating tumor DNA strands in blood as a marker forminimal residual disease. Even more of interest is the study on tumorstromal liquid biopsy panels, capturing the tumormicroenvironment38.39.” References 38 & 39 arenoteworthy contributions to the field.
38.Kuruc M, Zheng H, Sowerhardy A, et al. Newstrategies to categorize blood for proteomic biomarker discovery.J Proteom Bioinform. 2020;2: 90-107.
39.Ravensbergen CJ, Kuruc M, Polack M, et al. Thestroma liquid biopsy panel contains a stromal-epithelial genesignature ratio that is associated with the histologic tumor-stromaratio and predicts survival in colon cancer.Cancers (Basel). 2021;14(1):163.
From Reference 38, we describe howchronic illness manifests itself in blood and how we might studyinnate immunity to understand mechanisms that can potentiallytranslate into new biomarkers and therapeutic modalities. We drawupon our own knowledgebase of proteome information reportable afterBSG’s depletion or enrichment products in LC-MS/MS workflows andhow this knowledge can be utilized in new strategies for biomarkerdiscovery from blood samples. We note that BSG’s products havesimply and efficiently reduced the abundance of Albumin andImmunoglobulin allowing for cost-effective workflows, without the useof antibody-based depletion methods.
Fromthe Reference 39, we highlight key results.
Inaddition to patient prognosis, high stromal-epithelial gene signatureratio-risk scores were associated with an increased proportion ofMicrosatellite instability (MSI) in comparison to low ratio-riskscores. Given the increased proportion of MSI in the high ratio riskscore group, the signature ratio might be predictive of immunecheckpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy response in colon cancer andshould be the subject of future studies in ICI therapy-treatedpatient cohorts.
Thisreport provides a first theoretical framework for proteomicsignatures to potentially serve as an indicator for tumor-stromacontent when applied in liquid biopsy. Ultimately, the stromalconditioning protein blueprint, as captured by the SLB panel, mayprovide a more refined stratification of the tumor and patientprognosis, and offer new insights into therapeutic strategies thatmight beneficially modulate the tumor-microenvironment.
“Whilemost cancer research is focused on genomic mutations, even with theintroduction of immuno-therapies, we still know very little aboutindividualistic hospitality to uncontrolled cellular proliferation.The tumor-stroma ratio, developed at Leiden University Medical Centerhas been at the forefront in research on the microenvironmentcomponentry of cancer. So it is very rewarding to see that ourstrategies towards liquid biopsy and more generally, systemic chronicinflammatory biomarkers, is being cited in groundbreaking cancerresearch, such as this. BSG set out to answer whether stromalconditioning was measurable in blood sera, to most if not allcancers, regardless of primary tumor, stage, or metastatic disease.This discovery research, followed from our initial proteomecharacterization of our Albumin Removal products, AlbuVoid™ inparticular, and led to our panel of Stroma Liquid Biopsy™ proteomicbiomarkers. Taken together, these articles support the clinicalutility for stromal conditioning in cancer, as a further way tostratify patients towards the best treatment options. In the futurewe hope to correlate tissue level stromal conditioning andblood-accessible proteome level stromal conditioning and welcomecollaborative inquiries for such investigation.” states Swapan Roy,Ph.D., President and Founder of Biotech Support Group.
ClickTo Learn more about BSG’s Albumin & IgG Removal Products
ToLearn More About Stroma Liquid Biopsy™, download whitepaper at:
ReadCase Study: Unleashingthe Power of Proteomics To Better Understand the
Innate ImmuneResponse to Infectious and Non-infectious Inflammatory Stimuli
Keywords:colon cancer, tumormicroenvironment, tumor–stroma ratio, stromal conditioning,disease-free survival, cancer pathology, Stroma Liquid Biopsy™
AboutBiotech Support Group LLC
Convergingwith cultural and technological disruptions forthcoming inhealthcare, Biotech Support Group develops methods for cost effectiveand efficient sample prep essential for expanding proteomic analysis.Following a tiered business strategy, the company continues itsgrowth in the consumable research products area. For this market, keyproducts include: AlbuVoid™ and AlbuSorb™ PLUS foralbumin & IgG depletion, Cleanascite™for lipid adsorption, HemogloBind™ and HemoVoid™ for hemoglobinremoval, and NRicher™ for low abundance and family specificproteome enrichment. For more information, go tohttp://www.biotechsupportgroup.com
Toexplore collaborative opportunities in Stroma Liquid Biopsy™ orbusiness development contact: MatthewKuruc T: 732-274-2866 [email protected]