A complete, though not final, victory over cancer?
The British were promised to establish control over cancer in the next decade
Tumour Profiling Unit, an ICR unit specially created for the project, designed to understand the genetic nature of cancer, will be engaged in sequencing the genomes of malignant neoplasms, accumulation and analysis of information.
The authors of the project promise that thanks to the results of their work, in five to ten years all cancer patients will be able to receive personalized therapy, which will radically change the current situation in this area and actually make cancer, if not completely curable, then a controlled disease.
Currently, genetic profiling of neoplasms is used only for certain types of cancer. Thus, in metastatic breast cancer, the presence of tumor overexpression of the HER2 gene is determined – only in this case therapy with herceptin is possible. The drug vemurafenib increases the survival rate of only those patients with metastatic melanoma who have a BRAF V600 mutation.
The ICR project, currently planned for three years, in which three million pounds have already been invested, involves the creation of a global DNA database of the widest possible range of varieties of malignant tumors, as well as the genomes of cancer patients. The subjects of the study are now patients of the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, where ICR is based, but in the future this list will be expanded.
The project also involves genetic monitoring of tumors in order to track changes occurring in them, identify mutation variants and understand the causes of the often observed resistance to standard therapy. Instead of such an invasive technique as a biopsy, in this case, the technology developed by ICR specialists for detecting tumor DNA freely circulating in the bloodstream will be used.
Speaking about the project, ICR Director Professor Alan Ashworth stated: "It's not science fiction, it's happening right now. It seems incredible, but in five to ten years, the procedure of genetic profiling of a tumor in order to select an adequate treatment will become a completely routine procedure for every cancer patient."
In December 2012, it became known that a large-scale genome sequencing project was launched in the UK for 100,000 patients diagnosed with oncological or rare diseases.
It was reported that the project will last from three to five years, and the government has allocated 100 million euros (about $ 160 million) to the National Health Service of Great Britain (NHS) for its implementation.
Whether this project is related to the ICR project is unclear.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru29.01.2013