Toronto (ECN) - Major Breast Cancer Breakthrough Until recently, scientists have not been able to find all mutations in any tumor. A recent breakthrough by the British Columbia Cancer Agency has decoded three billion letters in the DNA of a spreading breast cancer tumor. This brings unequaled information, they discovered that the genetic distinctions between and original tumor and a tumor after it spreads is different at different stages. This can lead to new discoveries in cancer drugs and more personalized medicine.
Samples of tumors now tell scientists how to identify DNA mutations, which opens a number of doors that can be opened to further research. There are about three billion letters in genomes. When cells divide, the letters are copied but sometimes they do not copy exactly which is what causes cancer. The cells have mutated.
Researchers have also found that there are more mutations in a metastatic tumor than in a primary tumor. This can also help them understand how cancer spreads.
"This study demonstrates the remarkable capacity of next-generation DNA sequencing technology," said Dr. Marco Marra, of the cancer agency's Genome Sciences Centre. "The project that decoded the first human genome in 2001 took years and an enormous amount of funding. We were able to sequence the breast cancer genome in weeks and at a fraction of the cost."
This discovery will hopefully lead to more personalized treatment for cancer that are more effective. It will also lead to drug therapies that battle the specific genetic mutation. So far, these studies have been limited to breast cancer but studies on other types of tumors will follow.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian women (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer). In 2009:
- - An estimated 22,700 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 5,400 will die of it.
- - An estimated 180 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 50 will die of it.
- - On average, 437 Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer every week.
- - On average, 104 Canadian women will die of breast cancer every week.
