Scientists from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have this week launched the largest ever database of cancer-related genetic variations, providing researchers with a comprehensive means of helping determine target treatments for cancer.
The database is the most comprehensive of its kind currently available, can be accessed worldwide and is expected to accelerate the development of new drugs and better match patients with therapies.
In order to create the database the NCI team sequenced 60 human cancer cell lines, generating an extensive list of cancer-specific variations for different parts of the body.
To find the right treatment option, researchers could mine the data. For example, they could decide whether the drug Cisplatin is associated with specific genetic mutations, said , chief of the NCI’s Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, when speaking to Reuters. .
To find the right treatment option, researchers could mine the data. For example, they could decide whether the drug Cisplatin is associated with specific genetic mutations, said NCI Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology head Dr Yves Pommier when speaking to Reuters.
"Most anti-cancer drugs that are used today are used based on their empirical activity," Pommier said.
"For most of them, we know there is a target, but they have not been connected with any genomics."
For example, many of the most recently approved cancer drugs are targeted drugs, created to block certain pathways that cancer sells use to grow and reproduce. Before the drugs can be administered to a patient they must be tested for the specific genetic mutations that would make the drug more likely to be beneficial to them.
Many recently approved cancer drugs are targeted treatments, designed to block specific pathways that cancer cells use to grow and reproduce. Before the drugs are administered, patients are tested for the specific genetic mutations that would make the drug more likely to be beneficial to them.
Examples of targeted drugs include Zelboraf, sold by Roche Holding AG, which is designed to target a specific mutation found in about half of all melanomas.
Pfizer’s Xalkori, which targets a mutation in the ALK gene, only works in around 4% of lung cancer patients.
Further information on the database can be found in the American Association for Cancer Research journal.
Image: National Cancer Institute (NCI) new database is the most comprehensive of its kind. Photo: courtesy of Mikhail Popov.
