mTOR Pathway Phosphorylation Assessment for Cancer Treatment Stratification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cancer treatments face challenges in identifying which patients will respond to standard therapies and require more aggressive measures, as existing methods like gene expression analysis are limited in predicting treatment outcomes and do not account for the activated state of protein drug targets, leading to unnecessary morbidity and ineffective therapies.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the assessment of the phosphorylation state of members within the mTOR signaling pathway and interconnected pathways to predict patient response to chemotherapeutic agents and guide treatment decisions, using a diagnostic assay that measures the phosphorylation state of specific proteins in cancer tissues or cells, allowing for personalized treatment approaches.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If gene expression analysis is used to derive prognostic signatures, then patient stratification capability is improved, but treatment guidance capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from measuring gene expression levels to measuring protein phosphorylation states, changing the measurement parameter from transcriptional activity to post-translational modification status. This allows direct assessment of drug target activation states and functional pathway status, providing both prognostic and therapeutic guidance information simultaneously
2Reliability
If more aggressive therapeutic measures are applied to non-responders, then treatment efficacy may be improved, but patient morbidity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary assessment of protein phosphorylation states and pathway activation levels before initiating therapy. By measuring the functional state of drug targets and signaling pathways in advance, clinicians can predict treatment response and select appropriate therapy intensity, avoiding unnecessary aggressive treatment in patients who would not benefit from it
3Ease of operation
If standard therapy is applied to all patients, then treatment simplicity is maintained, but treatment effectiveness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by tailoring treatment to individual patients based on their specific protein phosphorylation profiles and pathway activation states. Rather than uniform standard therapy, patients receive customized treatment regimens matched to their molecular characteristics, improving effectiveness while maintaining operational simplicity through standardized assay protocols
Data Source
AI summary
This invention relates, e.g., to a method for predicting a subject's response to a chemotherapeutic agent and/or the subject's prognosis, comprising measuring the phosphorylation state of at least one member of the mTOR pathway, and/or of at least one member of an interconnected polypeptide pathway (e.g. a member of the Akt pathway or a member of the IRS pathway), compared to a baseline value, in a cancer tissue or cancer cell sample from the subject, wherein an elevated level of the phosphorylation state compared to the baseline value indicates that the subject is a non-responder to the chemotherapeutic agent and/or has a poor prognosis. Also described is a method for treating a cancer in a subject in need thereof, wherein the subject exhibits an elevated level of the phosphorylation state, comprising administering one or more inhibitors of the mTOR and/or an interconnected pathway.