The mutations provide the potential for highly-targeted cancer therapies, as receptor tyrosine kinases can be targeted by either small molecules or antibodies. Results from the study will be published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Researchers from the University of California, San Diego also contributed to the project.
Using high throughput DNA sequencing, researchers conducted the first comprehensive DNA sequence analysis of the receptor tyrosine kinase gene family in glioblastomas, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Recent studies have shown receptor tyrosine kinases to be cell regulators responsible for rapid cell growth in cancers, including colorectal, lymphoma, breast, and ovarian cancer.
"We have developed and applied high throughput DNA sequencing technologies and bioinformatics tools to peer into the genomes of glioblastomas in a manner that was previously unattainable," noted Robert L. Strausberg, Ph.D., deputy director of J. Craig Venter Institute and vice president of Human Genomic Medicine, J. Craig Venter Institute.