Gastric cancer is the number two cancer
killer worldwide and one of the top cancer killers in the U.S., but gastric
cancer research gets the least federal funding of any type of cancer
research. According to a CBS News analysis of data released by the American
Cancer Society, for every cancer-related death in the U.S., only $1,168
federal research dollars are spent on gastric cancer, versus $18,870 for
cancer of the cervix and $14,095 for breast cancer.
To address the significant need for gastric cancer research, NetApp
(NASDAQ: NTAP) and Stanford Genome Technology Center are building the
country's first comprehensive gastric cancer registry powered by NetApp®
storage technology. NetApp donated more than $600,000 in hardware,
software, and services to the Stanford Genome Technology Center on behalf
of the Gastric Cancer Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping
people fight gastric cancer.
The Gastric Cancer Fund is working with the Stanford Comprehensive Cancer
Center and Stanford Genome Technology Center to build a comprehensive
gastric cancer registry to aggregate all pertinent clinical and genetic
data on gastric cancer patients and serve as a resource in developing
strategies for this cancer's detection, treatment, and prevention. The
registry leverages a high-performance computing system which will be
integrated into state-of-the-art genomic DNA sequencing of gastric cancer
tumors and patient DNA samples to better understand the genetic make-up of
the gastric cancer cell. Cancer genome DNA sequencing generates enormous
amounts of data and requires a high-performance and easy-to-manage data
storage system to accelerate the research process.
"NetApp technology will help us to advance research in gastric cancer by
allowing us to sequence gastric cancer genomes and manipulate the vast
amounts of DNA sequence data generated at a level unachievable just a few
years ago," said Dr. James Ford, medical oncologist and geneticist at
Stanford University Medical Center. "The dramatic improvement in
performance and management capabilities has allowed our scientists to
optimize our research processes and will accelerate our quest to improve
the detection, treatment, and prevention of gastric cancer."