The first complete cancer genomes, or genetic maps, have been deciphered by UK scientists, paving the way for treatments tailored to individual patients.
Researchers have published full genomes of both lung cancer and melanoma, a skin cancer, on Nature, the science website, providing a catalogue of the DNA mutations causing the diseases.
The studies could lead to tailored treatments for individual cancer cases. The same type of cancer can be caused by distinct mutations in different patients, so the most appropriate treatment may also differ.
Patients’ entire genomes would be sequenced, revealing which cancer-causing mutations were present. Specific drugs would then be administered to suppress problematic genes. A melanoma treatment using this approach is already showing promising results in clinical trials. After treatment, a simple blood test to detect the dangerous mutations could determine if the disease had been cured.
Sequencing the cancer genomes at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, in Cambridgeshire, took months and cost $100,000 (£61,000) each. But Professor Mike Stratton, who led the melanoma study, estimates costs will drop to $20,000 and the time to 20 days, within a year – making the process clinically practical.
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