History of the International Cancer Biomarker Consortium
(from Dr. Lee Hartwell's perspective)

The concept for the International Cancer Biomarker Consortium (ICBC) developed out of a series of conversations, scientific presentations, and conferences with colleagues at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; funding opportunities to advance research in early detection; and a series of opportune meetings with colleagues in the Pacific Rim.

Specifically, my commitment to the discovery of biomarkers for the early detection of cancer began at a lunch conversation with Dr. Ruedi Aebersold, one of the founding members of Institute for Systems Biology and currently of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Dr. Aebersold was enthusiastic about the ability of mass spectrometry to identify a protein in a complex mixture of proteins and to discern varying levels of that same protein in two separate mixtures. One can imagine that the two separate mixtures can be blood samples from a cancer patient and from someone who does not have cancer.

Not long after this conversation, we held a faculty retreat at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) focused on molecular diagnostics. Several investigators at the Center presented success stories in early detection. Dr. Jerry Radich used the Bcr-Abl translocation to detect early recurrence of chronic myelogenous leukemia, Dr. Nicole Urban discovered protein markers for ovarian cancer, and Dr. Brian Reid used DNA mutations to detect early stage esophageal cancer.

The focus on early detection research gained momentum with my scientific colleagues in Seattle and we began talking with foundations about the potential for early detection. We were awarded grants from the Allen, Keck, Listwin, and Entertainment Industry Foundations. In addition, Drs. Martin McIntosh and Amanda Paulovich were awarded a contract from the National Cancer Institute in 2004 to support a public bioinformatics platform for data storage and sharing and a mouse project to test technology for discovery.

Don Listwin, an advocate for early detection of cancer, became very committed to the goal of a technology platform for biomarker discovery and for early detection and, as a result, founded the Canary Fund in 2004 to support this goal. He has been remarkably supportive of the international team effort of the ICBC.

The idea of an international consortium began to form as I traveled through a number of countries in the Pacific Rim. I encouraged colleagues that I met to develop biomarker discovery teams. In Korea, Dr. Myeong-Hee Yu of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology and Dr. Hyang-Sook Yoo of the Korea Research Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology formed teams and joined the consortium in 2004. Taiwan followed with a team from Chang Gung University under the direction of Dr. Chia-Chu Pao. Dr. Fuchu He from China joined the effort in early 2005. There are plans for teams in Singapore, Canada, Australia, and France.

As the chair of the Research Working Group for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), I encouraged the adoption of the biomarker discovery project into the strategic plan for their Life Sciences Innovation Forum. This gives us the opportunity to encourage projects in each of the 21 APEC member countries.

Finally, in partnership with the National Bureau for Asian Research, FHCRC hosted the Pacific Health Summit in Seattle in June of 2005. The Summit was a gathering of government, science, industry, and healthcare leaders from throughout the Pacific Rim to address the impact that science innovation can have on improving healthcare globally. We highlight the ICBC as a concrete example of an international collaboration to accelerate scientific innovation. This Summit will convene annually in Seattle and culminate in Beijing in 2008 to coincide with the Summer Olympics.

All of these initially divergent activities have led us today to the International Cancer Biomarker Consortium. The convergence of ideas, technologies, and effort will revolutionize the field of biomarker discovery and thereby early detection of cancer. I am hopeful as we move forward that we will make breakthroughs in technology and science.

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