In many instances, highly invasive biopsies are performed to ensure presence of absence of cancer. Dr. Dogra’s team is developing new assays, where cancer biomarkers can be detected in bodily fluids - the so called liquid biopsy for cancer. If successful, this will avoid invasive procedure, minimize infections, and lower the overall cost for patients.
Exosomes and Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanoparticles secreted by cancer and normal cells that carry biomarkers in bodily fluids. These nanoparticles have gained widespread interest as non-invasive tools for detection of many diseases. Yet, given their nano size (30-200 nm), exosomes are difficult to isolate and analyze. In this publication, Mount Sinai researchers teamed up with IBM to develop microfluidic device that can separate exosomes and other EVs from prostate cancer patients’ blood. Then, Dr. Dogra’s research team developed genomic sequencing protocols for exosomes’ analyses. His team discovered that exosomes contain cancer specific RNA and proteins. This discovery is of major clinical significance in the potential use of the multi-omic platform that would help diagnostic performance of diseases via liquid biopsy.
