Scripps Discovers Genetic Clues Into Formation Of Cancer Tumors

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Genetics
Article Date: 15 Jul 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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A new research study from Scripps Health provides previously unknown genetic clues into how cancerous tumors are formed in the human breast, brain and colorectal system. The findings by researchers at Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI) will be published in the September 2009 edition of the journal Genome Research.

STSI researchers analyzed genetic data from 44 breast cancer, colorectal cancer and glioblastoma tumors and identified specific mutations within groups of genes that are strongly involved in tumor formation. A mutation is a change in a cell's DNA.

While a large number of mutations occur within any tumor, not all of them contribute directly to the tumor's growth. Some mutations are akin to "random noise" while other mutations cause a growth advantage for tumors. The STSI study differentiated between the random and causative mutations.

"Understanding which specific mutations cause a tumor to form is an important step that may potentially translate into a more personalized approach to treating cancer patients," said Ali Torkamani, Ph.D., an STSI research scientist and the study's principal investigator. "These mutations provide us with targets for drug development that presumably would be more efficient at killing cancer, with lower toxicity levels that are safer for patients."

The new study builds upon earlier research conducted by Johns Hopkins University scientists, who sequenced cancerous tumors and studied individual genes linked to tumor growth. Because there are many different ways a tumor can be formed, STSI designed its research to look at groups of genes.

Torkamani co-authored the study with Nicholas Schork, Ph.D., director of bioinformatics and biostatistics for STSI.

Source
Scripps Translational Science Institute