Australian scientists sequence genome of pancreatic cancer

By Candy Lashkari

The International Cancer Genome Consortium which includes researchers from 22 countries is mapping the genomes of different types of cancers. A genome is essentially a blueprint of a human’s DNA. The genetic data of each individual is different and so is the genetic data of the cancer in the individual. The Australian scientists are sequencing the genomes of people suffering from pancreatic cancer.

Two sets of genomes are needed per individual. One is the normal healthy genome and the other is cancer ridden. These are then compared to check how the cancer affects the individual at the molecular level. The genetic mutations discovered will be used to design individualized medication for the cancer.

Currently pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of death due to cancer in Australia. Professor Andrew Biankin is a pancreatic surgeon and the head of pancreatic cancer research at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney. He is involved with the project and said, “Almost 90 per cent of people who get diagnosed with pancreatic cancer die within a year of diagnosis”

Professor Sean Grimmond from the Institute of Molecular Bioscience in Brisbane is part of the plan to sequence 400 pancreatic cancer genomes. “The question we are asking is: What goes wrong in pancreatic cancer itself?” said Grimmond who is involved with the actual gene sequencing in the project.

“We want to take the guesswork out of chemotherapy,” said Grimmond. “When a patient presents with a tumour, we want to be able to sequence it and say don't use this drug, use that drug because we know that this tumour will be resistant to drug A, but may be susceptible to drug B.”

Each member of the International Cancer Genome Consortium has signed away patent rights to the work they do on the genetic material they are working on so that the data may be freely available online. Cancer drug research will get a shot in the arm thanks to the availability of this data. So far the genome sequencing has been the most expensive part of the research and it is fast coming down.

Australian researchers have sequenced two pancreatic cancer genomes and published the results online at www.icgc.org. Britain has published material on breast cancer, Japan has published genomes on liver cancer and China on gastric cancer.

“We need to have about 100 tumour sequences for the first experiment to really work out what drivers are promoting cancer and what genes have been lost that would normally prevent cancer.” said Grimmond. That means that in about two to three years patients of pancreatic cancer may be able to get individualized medication based on their genome.

Since the genetic mutations will be readily available the traditional clinic trials will target specific mutations and save a lot of time, money and effort. The anti cancer drugs will be able to target specific abnormalities in pancreatic cancer genes. Since it is such an aggressive cancer and causes such rapid deterioration the researchers hope that basing the prescription on the patient’s individual genome will help save those diagnosed with the cancer faster.