The Arkansas Integrative Metabolic Research Center will host a Zoom seminar at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26, featuring Dr. Andrew K. Godwin from the Kansas University Medical System, who will discuss liquid biopsies and extracellular vesicles in cancer detection. 

Pathologic analysis of tumor tissue biopsies is the gold standard for the initial diagnosis of cancer. However, recently liquid biopsies, which analyze tumor-derived material circulating in the bloodstream and other bodily fluids, are rapidly gaining traction in the clinic. These tests offer considerable potential in oncology, which include early detection, monitoring treatment response and disease recurrence. Liquid biopsy biomarkers include circulating tumor cells, cell-free DNA and extracellular vesicles (EVs). Regarding the latter, EVs are showing great promise as circulating biomarkers. Center among EVs are nano-sized vesicles (40 to 150 nm) of endocytic origin also known as small EVs/exosomes, which are produced and released by most cell types under normal physiologic and in diseased states. sEVs carry cargo representative of their originating cell, including nucleic acids, cytokines, membrane-bound receptors and a wide assortment of other, biologically active lipids and proteins. Since sEVs/exosomes travel systemically throughout the body, efforts are underway to exploit them as potential biomarkers to detect and monitor disease states. Ways to exploit sEVs for cancer diagnostics will be discussed.

Godwin is a leader in the field of translational research and precision cancer medicine. He has dedicated his scientific career to improve the care for patients diagnosed with cancer. He is the Chancellor's Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Sciences Endowed Professor, the division director of genomic diagnostics and the director of molecular oncology at the KU Medical Center and the KU Health System, respectively. Godwin was recruited to the KU Medical Center and Cancer Center in October 2010 after 26 productive years at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, and his engaged participation contributed towards NCI designation in 2012, resulted in him being named the deputy director in 2013.

He is the founding director of the Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine and has received numerous scientific and academic awards, including the 2020 Higuchi-KU Endowment Research Achievement Award in Biomedical Sciences — the state higher education system's most prestigious recognition for scholarly excellence. His research program continues to focus on various aspects of both basic and translational research, with an emphasis on early detection of cancer, predictive and prognostic biomarkers, liquid biopsies based on extracellular vesicles, molecular therapeutics, companion diagnostics, clinical trials, cellular therapeutics, cancer immune microenvironment and biosample ascertainment.

If you have any questions about this event, please contact Kimberley Fuller at fullerk@uark.edu.

This event is supported by the NIGMS of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P20GM139768. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.