Last Updated: 04/06/07
Strategic Partnering to Evaluate Cancer Signatures
Contacts:
James W. Jacobson, Ph.D.
301-402-4185, jacobsoj@mail.nih.gov
Tracy Lively, Ph.D.
301-496-1591, livelyt@mail.nih.gov
The Strategic Partnering to Evaluate Cancer Signatures (SPECS) program consists of six grants that support multi-institutional, multidisciplinary research teams. The SPECS program leverages NCI’s investment in cancer clinical trials, cancer centers, NCI intramural programs, and the Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) program. The projects include collaborations with biotechnology companies, community hospitals, national laboratories, and academic institutions in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
The SPECS initiative supports six large collaborative research groups that are exploring how information derived from comprehensive molecular analyses can be used to impact the care of cancer patients and ultimately improve outcomes. SPECS supports research that bridges the gap between the discovery of molecular signatures and their integration into clinical practice. Investigators are refining and confirming both genomic and proteomic signatures that have already been shown to address clinical needs or questions. They are defining the critical components of the signatures and developing robust assays for measuring those components in the clinical setting. They will confirm that the modified signatures provide reproducible, reliable information that can potentially inform clinical decision-making. It is anticipated that the signatures developed in SPECS will lead to assays that are ready for validation in prospective clinical trials.
