LINKING BIOMARKERS TO TUMORS

Cancer impacts the lives of military members and their families just as in the general population. Research is needed to identify biomarkers that can predict tumor severity and response to treatment. Researchers led by Thomas Darling found that galectin-3 may be a useful biomarker to assess tumor severity in diseases with activation of the mTOR signaling pathway and to detect cancers with mutations in genes that regulate mTOR activity. These findings also have important implications for precision medicine approaches to treating other diseases associated with mTOR activation.