Specific Aims

1. Molecular profiling of glioblastoma tumors

The first aim of this research proposal deals with the molecular profiling of tumors or biopsies derived from glioblastoma patients. Standard clinical procedures involving surgery or biopsy will be applied for a cohort of adult glioblastoma patients. For each sample obtained, a combination of techniques such as immunohistochemistry, quantitative real-time PCR, mutation and epigenetic analysis will be used to accurately determine the expression as well as the mutation status of well established biomarkers in glioblastoma tumors and uncover molecular characteristics and signaling pathways activated for each patient’s tumor.

2. Glioblastoma patients monitoring and management from blood exosomes

The second aim of the proposal deals with the monitoring of glioblastoma patients. In addition to the standard procedures of magnetic reasonance imaging, there will be a follow up of the patients from their blood. The idea is based on the finding that glioblastoma derived microvesicles  (known as “exosomes”) carrying tumor biomarkers, can be isolated from the serum of glioblastoma patients.  Therefore in this aim there will be isolation of the microvesicles fraction from peripheral blood from each patient and subsequent detection of the presence or absence of biomarkers previously found to be expressed by the patients tumors in Aim 1.

3. Personalized therapy based on molecular findings

In the third aim of the proposal there will be use of all the information obtained both in Aims 1 and 2, in order to design a personalized treatment for each glioblastoma patient. The method of targeted drug delivery will be accomplished using nanotechnology. Nanoparticles previously modified to contain the appropriate drug for each glioblastoma patient will be generated and delivered appropriately to the corresponding patient.