Prostate cancer (PCa) preferentially metastasises to the bone, and it is these metastases that are the main cause of PCa related morbidity and mortality. Laboratory characterisation of this process showed that bone marrow adipocytes and the lipids within are crucial in directing the PCa epithelial cells to the bone and enabling them to cross the blood bone endothelial barrier. We have focussed on the role of the Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid arachidonic acid (AA) in this lipid driven process and have demonstrated that AA induces a crucial epithelial transition to an amoeboid phenotype via ligand independent EphA2 signalling. This webinar presents the ongoing trials and tribulations in translating cellular model derived biomarkers, in this case ligand independent EphA2 signalling, to archival FFPE patient cohorts. Prostate tissue micro-arrays (TMA) and whole mounts were labelled using the Opal TSA protocol on a Ventana Discovery platform and multiplex images were taken using the Vectra 3, unmixed and reconstructed using HALO. Preliminary results show that in addition to the levels of biomarker expression, the spatial location of the biomarker can be crucial in elucidating its bio-potential.
In lieu of our scheduled onsite user group meetings, Indica Labs is pleased to announce our 2020 European Virtual HALO User Group Meeting. To make participation more convenient for our European audience, we are breaking the user group into three one-hour webinars over three days, 19-21st May, starting at 11 AM GMT each day.
To get things started each day, Indica Labs’ applications & pharma services teams will introduce and demonstrate new features and capabilities that are part of our upcoming HALO 3.1, HALO AI and HALO Link software releases. Following these presentations, we will hear from our customers, representing globally renowned cancer centers, biotech and pharmaceutical organizations, who will discuss how they are using HALO software and services to reach their research objectives in immuno-oncology, toxicological pathology and beyond.
You do not need to be a current HALO user or Indica Labs customer to attend. We welcome anyone who is interested in learning more about Indica Labs’ quantitative digital pathology solutions to register for the meeting.
Note: Customers outside of Europe are welcome to attend, but be aware that a separate virtual North American User Group is planned for 9-11th June at a time which should be more convenient for our US and Canadian customer base.
Day 1
30 min presentation + Q&A – What’s New in HALO 3.1
Date: 19 May
Location: Webinar
30 min presentation + Q&A – Spatial expression of biomarkers in prostate cancer – location, location, location | Dr. Mick Brown and Mrs. Claire Hart
Date: 19 May
Location: Webinar
Summary
Mrs Claire Hart
Senior Scientific Officer in the GU Cancer Research Group, University of Manchester.
Dr. Mick Brown
Research Fellow in the GU Cancer Research Group, University of Manchester.
Day 2
30 min presentation + Q&A – What’s New in HALO AI
Date: 20 May
Location: Webinar
30 min presentation + Q&A – Assessment of Intratumor Heterogeneity and Tumor/Host Interaction Assessment using Spatial Analytics | Dr. Arvydas Laurinavicius, MD, PhD
Date: 20 May
Location: Webinar
Summary
Assessment of tumor tissue biomarkers can and should go beyond routine quantification to represent an average level of expression in the sample. High-capacity digital image analysis enables various methods of spatial statistics to extract subvisual features of biomarker expression taking into account intratumour heterogeneity and tumor microenvironment context. Both aspects are crucial for the development of robust prognostic and predictive tissue biomarkers. In this presentation, we will discuss image analytics, based on hexagonal grid subsampling of image analysis data and explicit mathematical modeling of the indicators. In particular, we will focus on the Interface Zone Immunogradient indicators1 which represent tumor infiltrating lymphocyte density profiles across the automatically defined tumour/host frontline. Independent prognostic value of the indicators has been demonstrated in breast and colorectal cancer patient cohorts.
Arvydas Laurinavicius, M.D. Ph.D.
Professor of Pathology at Vilnius University and Director of the National Center of Pathology, affiliate of Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos
Tulane National Primate Research Center
Day 3
30 min presentation + Q&A – What’s New in HALO Link and HALO AP.
Date: 21 May
Location: Webinar
30 min presentation + Q&A – Application of Digital Pathology and Image Analysis in Preclinical Translational Research | Dr. Francesca Trapani, DVM, PhD
Date: 21 May
Location: Webinar
Summary
Modern pathology is undergoing a drastic revolution mandated by the rapid development of advanced tests including special stains, multiplex IHC, in-situ hybridization, and digitalisation. The development of digital pathology (DP) solutions allows for the acquisition of high-resolution, whole slide images and for the possibility to perform digital image analysis. This approach supports the continuous need for the identification of key histologic biomarkers with the usefulness of quantitative pharmacodynamics (PD) assessment that enables analyses of large datasets in a consistent manner. At BI oncology translation research, these tools are increasingly being used to drive the understanding of NTC-driven disease biology by analysing disease modulation and PD biomarkers (BM). We describe an automated workflow developed to analyse data with spatial resolution impact and a gallery of the recent studies where histopathology and digital image analysis have been instrumental to identify and implement MoA-related disease modulation biomarkers driving PoCP concepts.
Presentation will be structured in 3 parts:
- Integration of HALO platform into the routine workflow
- Quantification of key histologic biomarkers
- How to combine HALO output and mathematical modelling
Dr. Francesca Trapani, DVM, PhD
Molecular Pathology Laboratory Head, Oncology Traslational Science
Boehringer-Ingelheim, Vienna Austria