Clinicians and researchers at the University of Kentucky Division of Medical Oncology, College of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Department of Surgical Oncology; ECS Progastrin in Switzerland; Centre Hospitalier Lyon-Sud in France; and Biospecimen Procurement and the Translational Pathology Shared Resource Facility at Markey Cancer Center in Kentucky have been studying a novel blood-based biomarker for the detection of neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) — hPG80 (Progastrin) — and a poster based on their research was presented at ASCO GI in San Francisco, California in January 2020. This first-ever study of plasma hPG80, concludes the authors of the poster, “suggests hPG80 may be a diagnostic blood-based biomarker in both low and high-grade NENs [neuroendocrine neoplasms] and further study is warranted. A prospective trial is ongoing in small cell lung cancer to evaluate its role in monitoring of disease (NCT03958045) and further studies in low-grade NETs [neuroendocrine tumors] are underway.” Aman Chauhan, MD of Markey Cancer Center is the Principal Investigator of the clinical trial.
This research was supported by the NCI Cancer Center Support Grant (P30 CA177558) as well as ECS Progastrin.
