Molecular oncology and precision oncology
Director Prof. Michele Caraglia
Research areas
The Molecular Oncology and Precision Oncology laboratory, coordinated by Prof. Michele Caraglia, focuses on the characterization of circulating miRNA signatures, with the aim of suggesting new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. The main goal is to determine a circulating miRNA signature with innovative nanosensors, for the diagnostic and prognostic determination of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx. This new technology will be applicable for any other neoplasia of which there are known circulating miRNA signatures to be determined in real time in the patients' blood. The biological role of these miRNAs in human cancers is also studied in order to identify new therapeutic strategies, based on the regulation of miRNA expression in cancer cells, through the use of nanotechnological approaches. The laboratory is also able to perform genotypic characterization in next generation sequencing (NGS) of human cancers, such as colorectal and breast cancer and renal clear cell cancer. These molecular features are useful for understanding the biological mechanisms that guide their development and determine their response to treatments.
Technologies used / developed
The Molecular Oncology and Precision Oncology laboratory is equipped with equipment for molecular and cell biology. In particular, it has clean rooms for cell cultures with safety devices for the manipulation of viral strains, a confocal microscope in white light and fluorescence, equipped with a CCD camera, FACS, equipment for gene sequencing of Next Generation Sequencing (PGM, Ion Torrent and Ion Proton), QuantStudio 7 Flex Real-Time; RT-PCR equipment (Pyromax and Therascreen).
Services
The laboratory aims to offer the genotypic characterization of colorectal and breast carcinomas of samples from patients affected by these diseases, so as to develop a collaborative network between the main universities and hospitals in Campania. Thanks to a bioinformatics tool that optimizes and simplifies the annotation of sequence data, the analysis obtained by evaluating quality score and frequency parameters, would allow for the development of a personalized medicine. In this way, therapeutic treatments could be developed based on the characteristics of each patient, with the right combination of drugs (based on their genetic profile and that of the disease) in the appropriate dose and at the right time.
Research
Internal seminar
