Pilot project begins work on a cancer genome atlas

The new undertaking is a giant step beyond the Human Genome Project and one that could result in more effective treatments for deadly cancers.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. Jan. 2/9, 2006.

Washington -- Two institutes of the National Institutes of Health are teaming up on a pilot project to characterize the multitude of genetic changes that occur with cancer. It's a large undertaking, say researchers, but one that could lead to the development of more effective treatments.

The project, called the Cancer Genome Atlas, or TCGA, will attempt to develop a comprehensive catalog of changes that can cause a healthy cell to become cancerous. These changes can include chromosome rearrangements, DNA mutations or chemical modifications of DNA that can turn genes on or off.

"The time is right to bring the full power of genomics to bear on the problem of cancer," said Francis Collins, MD, PhD, director of the Human Genome Research Institute, which, with the National Cancer Institute, is leading this effort. He and several other researchers and administrators spoke at a Dec. 13 briefing.

"One person dies of cancer each minute in the United States alone," Dr. Collins said. About 570,000 people in the country died of cancer last year. "Those of us here are determined to change that."

The mapping of the cancer genome is the next step in applying the findings from the Human Genome Project, said NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, MD. "It is now possible to envision a systematic effort to map the changes in the human genetic blueprint associated with all known forms of cancer."

The project's promoters believe the availability of an atlas of genetic changes could lead to more innovative drugs, diagnostic tests for earlier detection and other tests that could guide physicians to the most appropriate treatments for patients, as well as, ultimately, new ways to prevent cancer.