Imaging biomarker roadmap for cancer studies.

Imaging biomarkers (IBs) are integral to the routine management of patients with cancer. IBs used daily in oncology include clinical TNM stage, objective response and left ventricular ejection fraction. Other CT, MRI, PET and ultrasonography biomarkers are used extensively in cancer research and drug development. New IBs need to be established either as useful tools for testing research hypotheses in clinical trials and research studies, or as clinical decision-making tools for use in healthcare, by crossing 'translational gaps' through validation and qualification. Important differences exist between IBs and biospecimen-derived biomarkers and, therefore, the development of IBs requires a tailored 'roadmap'. Recognizing this need, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) assembled experts to review, debate and summarize the challenges of IB validation and qualification. This consensus group has produced 14 key recommendations for accelerating the clinical translation of IBs, which highlight the role of parallel (rather than sequential) tracks of technical (assay) validation, biological/clinical validation and assessment of cost-effectiveness; the need for IB standardization and accreditation systems; the need to continually revisit IB precision; an alternative framework for biological/clinical validation of IBs; and the essential requirements for multicentre studies to qualify IBs for clinical use.Development of this roadmap received support from Cancer Research UK and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (grant references A/15267, A/16463, A/16464, A/16465, A/16466 and A/18097), the EORTC Cancer Research Fund, and the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking (grant agreement number 115151), resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) and European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) companies' in kind contribution

Genomics of Fagaceae

An overview of recent achievements and development of genomic resources in the Fagaceae is provided, with major emphasis on the genera Castanea and Quercus. The Fagaceae is a large plant family comprising more than 900 species belonging to 8-10 genera. Using a wide range of molecular markers, population genetics and gene diversity surveys were the focus of many studies during the past 20 years. This work set the stage for investigations in genomics beginning in the early 1990s and facilitated the application of genetic and quantitative trait loci mapping approaches. Transferability of markers across species and comparative mapping have indicated tight macrosynteny between Quercus and Castanea. Omic technologies were more recently developed and the corresponding resources are accessible via electronic and physical repositories (expressed sequence tag sequences, single-nucleotide polymorphisms, candidate genes, cDNA clones, bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries) that have been installed in North America and Europe. BAC libraries and physical maps were also constructed in Castanea and Quercus and provide the necessary resources for full nuclear genome sequencing projects that are currently under way in Castanea mollissima (Chinese chestnut) and Quercus robur (pedunculate oak)