SMART-CARE - A systems medicine approach to stratifying cancer recurrence.
Network coordinator: Prof. Dr. Jeroen Krijgsveld
Responsibility IMI: Prof. Dr. Petra Knaup
Collaborative partners: Heidelberg University Hospital Heidelberg University Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) Heidelberg Center for Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy (CeMOS), Mannheim University of Applied Sciences German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg
Website: smart-care.mscoresys.de
Sponsor: BMBF
Short description: Within the joint project SMART-CARE, a local research core for mass spectrometry in systems medicine will be established in the Heidelberg and Mannheim area. Its focus will be on research into the risk of relapse in cancer. If the disease recurs after cancer therapy, the risk of death increases dramatically. The level of recurrence risk varies from individual to individual. Characterization of genomic alterations in tumors has already improved relapse risk assessment and the development of new therapies. However, to predict complex dynamic processes of disease progression or to propose strategies for tailored personalized cancer therapy, more information is needed. A promising approach for this is the quantitative analysis of proteins and metabolites using mass spectrometric methods in combination with mathematical models and artificial intelligence.
This is where SMART-CARE comes in: The numerous technological and logistical challenges that still exist in the use of mass spectrometry in the clinic are to be overcome by developing standardized pipelines. The initial plan is to establish a robust mass spectrometry pipeline that will ensure the reproducibility of sample analyses in the future. Integrative analysis of the complex mass spectrometry data will identify various molecular markers in tissue samples and body fluids. These markers will subsequently be used to determine the individual probability of relapse for four significant areas of tumor disease (blood, lung, brain as well as sarcoma) using a mathematical model.
Work package 5: Infrastructure for data management
Partners involved: Prof. Dr. Petra Knaup, Institute of Medical Informatics Prof. Dr. Sascha Dietrich, Department of Hematology, Oncology and Rheumatology, Heidelberg University Hospital
The central task of the IT infrastructure is to link mass spectrometric data with existing genomic and clinical data. To this end, a central data repository (SMART-LDR) will be set up and made available to serve as a central platform for the various project partners, in particular for exchange between the data-generating and data-interpreting project teams. Clinical data from different heterogeneous sources, such as clinical trials or documentation for clinical routine, have to be stored in a semantically interoperable way so that they can be analyzed together with the high-dimensional metabolome and proteome data. The central data repository SMART-LDR will provide easy access to pseudonymized heterogeneous data.
The main objectives in WP5 are:
- Build a comprehensive data repository and link mass spectrometry data to genomic and clinical data.
- Centralized standardized data definitions for the clinical data of the different partners.
- Structured documentation of clinical data in clinical routine
- Concepts for data access, data use and data security
Duration: 2020-2025
Staff of the Institute: A. Dudchenko, M. Ganzinger, F. Ringwald