103年度第二期癌症研究計畫

Oral cancer (OC) has been the 4th leading cause of cancer death among males in Taiwan. To date, more than 60% of OC patients are diagnosed as locally advanced cancer stage, which account for poor prognosis. There is an urgent need to develop an effective screening protocol and treatment policy to lower the incidence of OC and to promote these patients’ survival. Alcohol, betel nuts and cigarettes have been well-known risk factors of OC. However, there are still many other risk factors such as heavy metal and even virus or bacterial infection. The number of oral cancer screening was rewarded with rank No.1 by the Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare for consecutive three years among medical centers. The quality of cancer treatment was also verified as the top rank A. The human biobank in our hospital was certified by Ministry of Health and Welfare on June 16, 2013. The Institution Review Board was also qualified by Ministry of Health and Welfare, and certified by The Forum for Ethical Review Committees in the Asian and Western Pacific Region. Therefore, we have confidence to be capable of executing cancer translational research. In order to decrease the OC incidence and reduce their mortality, we conduct the programs as follows: High-throughput identification of biomarkers for early detection and diagnosis of OC by integrating metagenomics and metabolomics approaches, immunological approach and bioinformatics analysis. In this proposal, we will validate known biomarkers for Taiwanese OC patients and intend to identify new biomarkers, which can be microbial communities, metabolite profiles, the diversity of immune repertoire, and miRNAs by using metagenomics and metabolomics approaches, and immune repertoire and bioinformatics analysis. In summary, we will establish interdisciplinary approaches and genome-scale discovery of novel biomarkers for early detection and diagnosis, and develop practical preventive and treatment strategies to reduce mortalities and improve survival, and quality of life of OC in Taiwan.