Identification of gene signatures predicting drug efficacy

Coordinator:		Dr. Mathias Gehrmann
Institution:		Siemens Healthcare Diagnostic Products GmbH
Homepage:		diagnostics.siemens.com

Adjuvant treatment of breast cancer relies increasingly on expression of specific biomarker, e.g. estrogen receptor and HER2/neu. Goal of our project is the identification of new correlations between tumor biology  and responsiveness towards specific drugs. For this purpose, we perform high density gene expression profiling of tumors, for which drug responsiveness against a panel of drugs has previously been determined in an in vitro sensitivity model (subproject 1). In addition, we analyse the gene expression in breast cancer tissue samples from patients which have been treated with a specific drug after surgery of the primary tumor in the context of patient survival. Aim is the development of diagnostic procedures allowing an optimal treatment of each individual breast cancer patient.