Diagnostics of gliomas based on the slowly circulating tumor DNA

Gliomas are essentially incurable despite significant advances in surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Proper diagnosis of the type of glioblastoma, early diagnosis of molecular progression, characterization of critical mutations or epigenetic features offers hope for improved treatment outcomes. It is planned to develop a comprehensive test based on the analysis of material taken from the tumor (targeted sequencing of NGS 700 genes) and an attempt to develop a "liquid biopsy" based on the analysis of slowly circulating DNA (cfDNA) of the tumor in the blood, which could be a minimally invasive option for biopsy. Additional goals are: comprehensive characterization of the tumor genome and transcriptome as well as the use of in vitro 3-D glioblastoma culture, e.g. in a hypoxic environment, to assess stem cells and cell susceptibility to therapies in a niche environment. The implementation of the tasks will contribute to a better knowledge of the biology of gliomas, will allow the identification of new molecular biomarkers, therapeutic targets, and will also constitute a practical model for studying the response to treatment in hypoxia. The development of a diagnostic test will improve the effectiveness of treatment by adjusting it to the molecular subtype of the tumor, and liquid biopsy would improve the availability of diagnostics, the comfort and safety of patients and would mean completely new possibilities of monitoring the course of the disease, unavailable so far. The project is carried out by the Consortium - Medical University of Silesia in Katowice - Institute of Experimental Biology M. Nencki of the Polish Academy of Sciences - Medical University of Warsaw - Academic Computer Center Cyfronet of the AGH University of Science and Technology of Stanisław Staszic in Krakow - Oncogene Diagnostics - Regional Science and Technology Center.