Scientists explore ways to use genes to fight cancer

Using Genes to Fight Cancer

Better cancer treatment could come from studying genes

Researchers want to know why otherwise healthy cells suddenly begin to grow uncontrollably and cause disease. Until now this question has been without and answer but a new study of human genes may have researchers one step further to its answer.

In a new study conducted at Washington University in St. Louis scientists were able to decode an entire genome of a patient with cancer.

"This is the first time that we've been able to look at the entire set of genes from a cancer patient, and that is key because that's going to help us understand what goes wrong," said senior author of this new study, Dr. Richard Wilson.

The study was completed using 20,000 cells donated by a patient who lost her fight with leukemia. Researchers were able to compare the woman's healthy cells to the diseased cells, which resulted in a finding of 10 genetic mutations that may have caused her cancer.

In the study it was discovered that one of the mutated genes was blocking chemotherapy from reaching its destination in the body. Other genes were found to be disrupting the cell's natural warning system therefore preventing them from working properly.

"If those genes are mutated or de-activated, there's a very good chance the cancer can start to grow out of control," said Wilson

Scientists are continuing to try to identify various genetic mutations that may be the source of other cancers in the hopes that these mutations will become easy to detect through blood samples.

Researchers hope that identifying the genetic mutations that cause various cancers, including possibly mesothelioma, will enable them to create a "cancer code". These genetic indicators may make treatments easier to develop as well as allow doctors to customize treatment plans for each patient.

Genetic mutation codes will help when "... deciding which patients get which treatment, which patients need more treatment, which patients are more likely to have their cancer come back," said Dr. Ross Levine of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. "It's incredibly transformative in the clinical arena, right away."

It is still unclear to researchers why gene mutations occur but knowing that they occur puts researchers one step closer in their quest to solve the mystery that is cancer.

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