UF researcher Steve Goodison, Ph.D., an associate professor in the department of surgery in the College of Medicine-Jacksonville, recently received $1.1 million from the National Cancer Institute for a study aimed at improving early detection and monitoring of bladder cancer.
During the four-year study, Goodison and colleagues Charles Rosser, M.D., an assistant professor in the department of urology in Gainesville, and Virginia Urquidi, Ph.D., a research associate professor in the department of medicine in Jacksonville, will use proteomics – or analysis of the protein profile in a cell or tissue – to identify proteins specifically associated with the disease.
“We will use comparative glycoprotein and phosphoprotein analyses to determine which factors in the bladder may indicate the presence of bladder cancer,” Goodison said.
“Being able to identify these cancer biomarkers could really assist clinically because it would help us screen both asymptomatic people for early detection and people with a history of bladder cancer for recurrence – all with the hope of helping the patient in a tangible timeframe.”
The new grant extends Goodison and Rosser’s ongoing state Department of Health-funded studies on bladder cancer, which aim to identify the genetic characteristics of bladder cancer tissues. The project will also involve collaborators at the University of Michigan and the core facilities of UF’s Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research.
In the United States, bladder cancer is the third leading tobacco-related disease – after lung cancer and heart disease. Bladder cancer is a predominantly male disease, with women accounting for only 20 percent of diagnosed cases.
“The general public knows how smoking can affect the lungs and the heart but probably knows little about its effects on the bladder,” Goodison said. “But the same toxins produced by smoking that hurt the lung also get into the bloodstream, are excreted into the urine and then sit in the bladder, sometimes for extended periods of time.”
Goodison believes there is a definitive pattern of protein expression in tumor cells that can be defined.
“Because new techniques allow relatively large-scale screening of cellular proteins, it’s now feasible to compare the protein complement of cells from different disease states,” he said. “Furthermore, if we identify specific proteins that are associated with bladder cancer, we can gain insight into the tumor biology and start to understand the molecular basis of tumorigenesis and progression, which, in turn, could open up other avenues of basic research.”