Background
The first and foremost factor in winning the battle with Cancer is possessing early enough detection tools for the whole spectrum of human oncological pathologies. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention projects 1.9 million new cancer cases and 630,000 cancer deaths to occur each year in the United States alone through 2020. Thus, the world-wide research community effort is directed into finding and implementing novel sensitive and reliable prognostic and diagnostic technologies.
Summary of the Invention
The invention leverages the novel finding that the Major Histocompatibility Complex Type I (MHC-I) genotype influences the probability of occurrence of specific oncogenic mutations, as the MHC-Imolecules have the potential to present those mutations to the immune system that will further lead to tumor destruction. MHC-I locus is the most variable locus in the human genome with thousands of different alleles. Every person has a specific combination of six MHC-I alleles generating a vast diversity of cancer mutation sets every individual can present to the immune system. The prediction of the specific mutations that the MHC-I molecules of a person can present will result in predicting which mutations that person will be more prone to and thus which cancer types might be developed in future. The present technology, potentially combined with molecular and epidemiologic data, is a projected powerful prognostic tool for assessing cancer development risk and early diagnostic for any cancer type in any individual.
References:
Marty R. et al., “MHC-I Genotype Restricts the Oncogenic Mutational Landscape.” 2017 Cell 171, 1–12 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29107334
Marty R. et al., “MHC-I genotype drives early immune selection of oncogenic mutations”. 2018 Molecular and Cellular Oncology, 5(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29487895
Advantages
- Novel Prognostic & Early Diagnostic
- Applies to bona fide oncogenic mutations and therefore is not limited to any specific cancer type
- Inexpensive: requires only the individual MHC-I genotype determination
Patent Status Patent application pending
For licensing/partnering information, please contact:
Inna Khartchenko, M.S., MBA
Director, Technology Transfer and New Ventures
E-mail: [email protected]