Utilising "Omics" Technologies
TRACKER will, for the first time, provide the critical sample numbers and clinical follow-up necessary for extensive multidisciplinary biological investigations. This will result in significant advancements in knowledge of lung cancer biology and treatment.
Why "Omics"
New high-throughput technologies have enabled a vast number of molecular measurements to be able to be captured within tissue or cells. Applying multiple technologies simultaneously (multi-omics) to our lung cancer biospecimens and linking them with clinical follow-up data will provide a comprehensive view of the underlying biology at an unprecedented resolution.
Key multi-omic methods used in TRACKER include:
Whole Exome Sequencing
Whole Metagenome Sequencing
Metabolomics
Using next generation sequencing, this analysis will provide information of the mutational changes in the protein-coding regions of the genome. Mutations associated with immunotherapy resistance, as well as genes with clinically actionable mutations, will be profiled and studied in EBUS lung cancer tissue samples.
A powerful approach that analyses the total DNA of a sample, revealing the diversity and interactions of micro-organisms. Sequencing bronchoalveolar fluid from lung cancer patients will identify microbial communities associated with therapy resistance.
The study of chemical processes involving metabolites, which are the substrates, intermediates, and products of cell metabolism. Bronchoalveolar fluid, a lubricant in the lower airways containing bacteria, will be analysed to assess bacterial metabolic activity and its impact on treatment response.
Single-Cell Sequencing
Circulating Tumour DNA Analysis
Flow Cytometry
Enables the simultaneous quantification of cell surface proteins and RNA gene expression within a single-cell readout. Using EBUS samples, changes in cell composition between immunotherapy responders and non-responders will be identified.
Identifies genomic regions with DNA methylation, which can silence genes. Longitudinally collected liquid biopsy (blood) samples from metastatic lung cancer patients will be used to detect methylation patterns associated with treatment resistance.
Identifies and analyses multiple physical and biological characteristics of cells. It will be used to assess the abundance of various immune cell, identify novel targets for combination therapies, and detect markers of drug resistance in longitudinal lung cancer samples.