Role of saliva-based exosomal DNA in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

• Applicant: Dr. Alexander Semaan
• Subject Area: General and Visceral Surgery
• Term: from 2017 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 366967262

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is still associated with a very dismal prognosis. In only a few patients the disease can be diagnosed in a curable state. With modern genetic analyses it is now possible to differentiate between malignant and benign pancreatic lesions using tissue specimens. Unfortunately acquisition of tissue by endoscopy still has risks and the acquired tissue is not always sufficient for diagnosis. Therefore, entirely noninvasive liquid biopsy- techniques are gaining interest in the scientific biomarker field. Especially, saliva based biomarkers have the advantage of risk free and repetitive collection and their accumulation in saliva. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the potential of DNA-based biomarkers from exosomes in saliva (exoDNA) for early detection, tumor diagnosis and therapy monitoring in patients with PDAC. In a first project we plan to compare the mutational status in exoDNA and the primary tumor in comparison to benign lesions of the pancreas. Subsequently, we will evaluate the use of salivary exoDNA as a surrogate biospecimen for the identification of actionable mutations in PDAC. In a last step we determine the relevance of salivary exoDNA for the assessment of treatment response.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Anirban Maitra, Ph.D.