The partner organization from the University of Donja Gorica has developed a trial version of the Biobank Information Management System (BIMS) designed for the needs of the project BIOCAN. A meeting dedicated to the evaluation of the trial version was held at the Faculty of Medicine on November 25th, bringing together members of our research team and colleagues from the University of Donja Gorica.
During the meeting, the functionality of the software was jointly analyzed through practical testing to identify potential shortcomings and areas for improvement. Participants provided feedback and highlighted the key strengths of the current version of the software, as well as the challenges that need to be addressed prior to its official implementation.
We extend our gratitude to our partners from the University of Donja Gorica for their wonderful collaboration.
We are excited to announce that a new review article entitled: “Advances in microRNAs as Emerging Biomarkers for Colorectal Cancer Early Detection and Diagnosis” by BIOCAN research team has been published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences(IJMS) as part of the Special Issue: New Insights into Colorectal Cancer.
This comprehensive review summarizes the latest findings on deregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) in both precancerous lesions and CRC, in different types of samples, highlighting their potential as diagnostic tools. We specifically reviewed the roles and diagnostic relevance of four key miRNAs – miR-15b, miR-21, miR-31, and miR-146a – each of which consistently exhibits altered expression in CRC. Challenges and opportunities of integrating miRNA diagnostics into current screening methods are discussed, and the authors are confident that miRNAs have a potential to radically transform CRC diagnosis, leading to improved patient outcomes and new treatment strategies.
Six dedicated members of our BIOCAN team — Maša Ždralević, Andrijana Radović, Janja Raonić, Nataša Popović, Aleksandra Klisić, and Ljiljana Vučković — collaborated on this paper, which you can access through the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/20/11060
We are pleased to share that Andrijana Konatar, our young research associate and PhD student, attended TRANSLACORE Biobanking Training School, hosted by the Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center (IBG) from June 10-12. This event was supported within the scope of the CA 21154-TRANSLACORE COST project (www.translacore.eu).
During this three-day event, Andrijana participated in a series of activities including presentations, case studies, interactive panel discussions, and hands-on training sessions conducted by distinguished experts in the field. The training enabled Andrijana to gain basic biobanking skills, learn about the collection, processing, and storage of high-quality human biological samples, which is a very important step in effective cancer research, and of particular importance to the activities within BIOCAN project.
We are pleased to announce that the patient recruitment for our project started on May 8th, 2024, upon receiving approval of Ethical Committees of the Faculty of Medicine (no. 378/2), Clinical Center of Montenegro (no. 03/01-6812/1) and Primary Healthcare Center in Podgorica (no. 05/17-2725).
Recruitment is performed at the Center for Laboratory Diagnostics at the Primary Healthcare Center in Podgorica. It is fully anonymous, voluntary, and is oriented towards patients with indication for colonoscopic examination by their treating physician. Patients for the BIOCAN study are referred to us by gastroenterological team of the Clinical Center of Montenegro, led by Dr. Damir Muhović.
Dr. Maša Ždralević and our research associate Andrijana Konatar are responsible for the recruitment, interviewing, and collection of blood samples, with the assistance from the head of Center for Laboratory Diagnostics, Dr. Aleksandra Klisić and her team.
We would like to thank all the patients recruited so far and all the team members for their wonderful cooperation!
The kick-off meeting of the project BIOCAN was held on January 25th at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Montenegro.
The opening speech was given by the project coordinator, Prof. Dr. Miodrag Radunović, who emphasized the importance of the project and the goals that are planned to be achieved. Thereafter, the focus shifted to organizational aspects, such as individual contract signing and signing the application for the Ethics Committee for study approval.
The governing bodies of the project were formed: the Management Board, the Executive Board, and the International Advisory Board (IAB). The Management Board, composed of experts from various institutions, will have a key role in making decisions regarding the implementation of the project. The Executive Board will ensure the implementation of those decisions, while the International Advisory Board will provide professional support and monitor the progress of the project. Through transparency, accountability and coordination, these bodies will ensure that the research project BIOCAN is successfully managed and achieves its goals. We are particularly proud of our distinguished IAB members:
Prof. Dr. Sergej Đuranović, Washington University School of Medicine, USA
Prof. Dr. Nese Atabey, Center for Genome and Biomedicine, Izmir, Turkey, and
Dr. Aleksandra Nikolić, Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering, Belgrade, Serbia.
Activity plan for the first research year was discussed and adopted, and the responsibilities were divided among the researchers. In the first year of the project, patient recruitment and sample collection, procurement of equipment, chemicals and consumables, histopathological analysis of tissue samples, software development, website creation and others are planned, according to the outline of planned activities and Gantt chart from the project application.
Data Management Plan, as well as rules regarding the authorship issues were discussed and adopted.
