EUELC project: a multi-centre, multipurpose study to investigate early stage NSCLC, and to establish a biobank for ongoing collaboration

Dec 1, 2009 | Magazine: The European Respiratory Journal

Field JK, Liloglou T, Niaz A, Bryan J, Gosney JR, Giles T, Brambilla C, Brambilla E, Vesin A, Timsit JF, Hainaut P, Martinet Y, Vignaud JM, Thunnissen FB, Prinsen C, Snijders PJ, Smit EF, Sozzi G, Roz L, Risch A, Becker HD, Elborn JS, Magee ND, Montuenga LM, Pajares MJ, Lozano MD, O'Byrne KJ, Harrison DJ, Niklinski J, Cassidy A; EUELC Collaborators. Hodaj K, Moro-Sibilot D, Mignotte HN, Brichon PY, Ferretti G, Morzol N, Aubert A, Aubert M, Arbib F, Lantuejoul S, Siroux V, Balsan J, Grosdidier G, Martinet N, Bolijn AS, Wouters M, van der Drift MA, Dekhuijzen PN, Peeters AJ, van den Hurk DG, Hol BE, van der Mee J, van Aarssen Y, Steenbergen RD, Meijer CJ, Sutedja TG, van den Berg RM, Kooi C, Brokx HA, Postmus PE, Verri C, Andriani F, Conte D, Livio A, Tavecchio L, Pastorino U, Calabro E, Calarco G, Fabbri A, Bartsch H, Jäger B, Schnabel P, Thomas M, Dienemann H, Herth F, Pfannschmidt J, Muczenski-Luz R, Fischer JR, Davis R, McManus KG, Lynch T, Clarke J, Walshaw MJ, Duffy SW, Heathcote L, Hodge N, Plater P, Smith D, Zaman R, O'Connell F, Young V, Nicholson S, Lawler M, Gately K, Barr M, Buckley H, Ferguson A, Enright C, Agorreta J, Pio R, Zulueta JJ, Lopez-Picazo JM, Gurpide A, Montes U, Torre W, Laudanski J, Kozlowski M, Lapuc G, Lauda?ska M, Chyczewski L, Chyczewska E.

The European Early Lung Cancer (EUELC) project aims to determine if specific genetic alterations occurring in lung carcinogenesis are detectable in the respiratory epithelium. In order to pursue this objective, nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with a very high risk of developing progressive lung cancer were recruited from 12 centres in eight European countries: France, Germany, southern Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK. In addition, NSCLC patients were followed up every 6 months for 36 months.

A European Bronchial Tissue Bank was set up at the University of Liverpool (Liverpool, UK) to optimise the use of biological specimens. The molecular-pathological investigations were subdivided into specific work packages that were delivered by EUELC Partners. The work packages encompassed mutational analysis, genetic instability, methylation profiling, expression profiling utilising immunohistochemistry and chip-based technologies, as well as in-depth analysis of FHIT and RARbeta genes, the telomerase catalytic subunit hTERT and genotyping of susceptibility genes in specific pathways.

The EUELC project engendered a tremendous collaborative effort, and it enabled the EUELC Partners to establish protocols for assessing molecular biomarkers in early lung cancer with the view to using such biomarkers for early diagnosis and as intermediate end-points in future chemopreventive programmes.

CITATION Eur Respir J. 2009 Dec;34(6):1477-86

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