COSMIC'S new 3D system can help identify and characterize cancer drug targets

COSMIC-3D, the most comprehensive system for exploring cancer mutations in three dimensions, is launched today by COSMIC, based at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, in collaboration with Astex Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, UK. With extensive colourful and helpful visualizations, the new resource can help identify and characterize drug targets as well as support the design of new therapeutics for cancer.

TP53 molecule around DNA, showing hotspots of mutation, as displayed by COSMIC-3D

The new tool is set to change the way researchers interact with genomic mutations in order to identify new cancer drug targets.

Available at http://cancer.sanger.ac.uk/cosmic3d, COSMIC-3D provides interactive 3D visualizations of over 8000 human proteins displaying cancer mutations. It enables researchers to develop a clearer understanding of which mutations are implicated in cancer progression, and how these mutations impact molecular structure and function.

Significantly, COSMIC-3D displays known and predicted drug binding sites within the protein structure. This displays cancer mutations alongside binding sites with predictions of how likely a pocket is to be successful as a drug target, enhancing the exploration and identification of how mutations impact therapeutic targets.

COSMIC-3D has been designed to directly assist pharmaceutical development. The new resource utilises COSMIC - Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer, the world’s largest expert-curated human cancer mutation database - and also incorporates structural information from the Worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB).

Dr Marcel Verdonk, Senior Director at Astex Pharmaceuticals, said:

Combining cancer genomics data from COSMIC with the human structural proteome provides valuable insights into how cancer mutations affect molecular functions and impact cancer progression. This will enable scientists to better tackle the challenges of developing cancer-specific therapeutics.

Dr Simon Forbes, Head of COSMIC at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said:

This is a hugely exciting addition to the COSMIC family, COSMIC-3D will allow researchers to explore cancer mutations in a completely new way, providing new perspective for precision medicine.