Desenvolvimento de plataformas biotecnológicas para a biópsia líquida do câncer de mama utilizando células tumorais circulantes e saliva

Abstract

Breast cancer (BC) is an important global health problem and is the main cause of cancer-related deaths in women. Most deaths are a consequence of distant metastases and the most effective way to avoid them is the detection of BC in the early stages. The gold standard test for breast cancer screening is mammography and it has important limitations such as restriction of its use in a specific age group and the physical constitution of the breasts. In addition, it has high rates of false-positive results, mainly because it fails to differentiate between benign and malignant diseases, causing unnecessary tissue biopsies. A biopsy is the only tool able to confirm the diagnosis of breast cancer, but it has the disadvantage of being highly invasive. Given this scenario, it is extremely important to develop new tools or platforms to help reduce biopsies and other unnecessary procedures. In this thesis, three chapters will be presented. In chapter I, a review of the literature on the theme of the thesis will be addressed. Breast anatomy pathology, the most relevant biomarkers, and techniques that can solve the problem exposed above will be described. The objective is to present the concepts and studies necessary to understand the other chapters. In chapter II, a method, panel, and kit developed to detect circulating tumor cells in peripheral blood for breast cancer diagnosis and therapy monitoring (Patent 1) will be discussed. This patent was filed under the number BR1020200263951 on 12/22/2020 and on 12/20/2021 the PCT of the same was requested under the number PCT/BR2021/050561. It is in the phase of validation of the protocol developed, optimization and prospective study to confirm the parameters of treatment monitoring chapter III, the developed method of using machine learning algorithms in the analysis of mid-infrared spectroscopy data to screen the female population by saliva (Patent 2) will be presented. This patent was deposited under the number BR1020210260386 on 12/22/2021 at the INPI. The model is currently being validated with an increase in the sample size. Soon after Chapter III, the conclusion of the thesis and perspectives will be presented.