Welcome and Introductions

Leland Hartwell, Ph.D., President and Director, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Gregory J. Downing, D.O., Ph.D.,Director, Office of Technology and Industrial Relations, National Cancer Institute

Dr. Downing welcomed attendees and thanked them on behalf of Dr. Ann Barker, Deputy Director of Advanced Technologies and Strategic Partnerships, NCI and Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, Director, NCI. He noted that this meeting will look toward developing new strategies to use proteomics to support biomarker discovery and related platforms. The NCI is interested in enabling partnerships that will capitalize on recent developments in genomics and imaging technologies to streamline transformational biologic applications of proteomics. Dr. Downing noted that participants at this meeting bring a wealth of ideas, experiences, and strategies that will help to frame the concepts and challenges of applying proteomics to cancer. He noted that the ultimate focus of these and other discussions is to impact clinical medicine and to improve the outlook and quality of life for cancer patients. Noting that cancer is currently the number one killer in the United States of persons under age 80, Dr. Downing charged participants with discussing information management strategies that will make proteomic data the most useful for developing platforms for the early detection, monitoring, and therapy of cancer. He noted the following goals and objectives for this meeting:

• Prioritize the development agenda of a mouse model serum and tissue proteomics data repository
• Identify the needs of a general clinical proteomics data repository that are not accommodated within the mouse proteomic technology consortia
• Outline a roadmap for developing a general clinical proteomics data repository
• Discuss proteomic data management approaches and develop strategies to frame this information to accelerate discovery and educate the public
• Discuss ways to establish standards in proteomics to minimize experimental variability, share data and information, and facilitate partnerships.

Dr. Downing noted that the NCI seeks to support data cross-validation efforts by developing consortia that are similar in scope to the Mouse Models of Human Cancer Consortium (MMHCC). The Institute wishes to develop a workplan for this project and for NCI integration with other communities to develop standards and resources for protein analysis. With an ultimate goal of facilitating clinical exploration in this area, the Institute will use its cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG) to help develop common resources. However, issues of data validation, data mining, data reporting, and standards currently must be addressed.

Dr. Hartwell commented that the application of proteomics to cancer patients has been both encouraging and frustrating. Proteomics has great potential as a tool for the early detection of cancer, but a lack of validated biomarkers has kept the field from achieving its maximum impact in the clinical setting. Markers are currently needed for risk, detection, progression, clinical trial and therapeutic development, and individualized treatment. Dr. Hartwell noted that the combination of markers with imaging technology portends a new era of improved cancer outcomes and for medicine in general. Noting the success of Gleevec in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia, he observed that successful cancer drugs can result from the identification of an appropriate marker.

Dr. Hartwell also observed that the proteomics community is currently at a stage similar to that present when the Human Genome Project (HGP) was launched. Current technology enables the sampling of only a small portion of the proteome at differing levels of quality. When the HGP was at a similar juncture, the combination of teamwork, informatics, and standards for quality control and assessment propelled the project to success. Heterogeneity in human cancer provides added challenge when assigning identified markers to a specific meaning. Nonetheless, Dr. Hartwell noted his optimism about the potential for proteomics, especially in terms of outcomes for patients.