Cancer is a leading cause of death that affects millions of lives across the world. It is a complex disease that is likely to require multifactorial measurements for earlier and more accurate diagnosis and patient stratification. Tissue biopsies and fine needle aspirates are commonly collected clinically, but existing multi-analyte technology platforms are ill-equipped to derive meaningful information from single samples. The goal of this proposal is to characterize Enumeral?s technology for the measurement of multiple analytes on clinical samples and to generate a design for an automated prototype system to be used in Phase II. Enumeral?s platform is ideally suited for the measurement of small samples, as it can accept and analyze cell samples of any size from any tissue in the body. The system will be characterized with commercially available reagents and tested on biopsy samples to measure secreted proteins, surface markers, and gene expression. With the mortality associated with cancer and the sheer volume of clinical samples taken on an annual basis, the advancement of technologies for the analysis of small tissue samples has the potential to advance the understanding of cancer progression and open new doors for diagnostic and treatment paradigms.
