[TerryH]

Study finds genetic links in aggressive cancers

by TerryH on Thu May 02, 2013 8:12 pm

Came across this news story this evening. It isn't directly about myeloma, and, in fact, doesn't even mention it. Still, I thought some people might be interested to know about it.

Here's the headline and first few paragraphs:

US studies find genetic links in aggressive cancers

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Some of the most devastating forms of cancer have genetic similarities even though they strike different body parts, according to new studies out Thursday.

The new research -- one study focused on a form of leukemia, in the New England Journal of Medicine, and a second on endometrial cancer, in Nature -- could offer a pathway to new, more effective treatments.

The new findings challenge the previous approach of classifying tumors based on the body part where they are first observed, and add fuel to the growing trend of differentiating tumors based on their genetic profile.

The research came as part of a vast program undertaken by the National Institutes of Health called the "Cancer Genome Atlas Project," which aims to decode the genetic pattern of 10,000 tumors from 20 different cancers.

Thanks to that analysis, scientists had already found genetic relationships between certain forms of breast, lung, and colon cancers.

-> For more, see the full article here: http://tinyurl.com/c2acdb3

It will be interesting if research focused on blood cancers at some point finds similar links. From what little I've read, I'm not sure that it will.

[Multibilly]

Re: Study finds genetic links in aggressive cancers

by Multibilly on Thu May 02, 2013 8:52 pm

This is truly a remarkable effort. Thanks Terry. Note that the ever-wonderful Wikipedia explicitly mentions multiple myeloma as being one of the 25 tumor types that the effort is currently being address in Phase 2, which is supposed to be completed by 2014.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cancer_Genome_Atlas

And here is an abstract of some of the initial findings of the genome sequencing of multiple myeloma tumor cells.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v471/n7339/full/nature09837.html

With respect to genetic technologies and the way they can contribute to curing diseases, it's indeed a great time to be alive.