Researchers decode breast cancer tumor's DNA

Yep, it's breast cancer awareness month. Yep, that makes it even bigger news.<blockquote>In a world first, Canadian scientists have decoded all three billion letters of DNA in a breast cancer tumour and identified the mutations that caused the cancer to spread.

The landmark study by researchers at the B.C. Cancer Agency is a first step towards unlocking the secrets of how cancer begins and moves to other parts of the body.

Principal investigator Dr. Samuel Aparicio says the discovery should help researchers develop new breast cancer treatments based on the mutated genes.

Aparicio says the work is another major step towards personalized medicine.</blockquote>http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hBzjdkt3V5aBC_bhLT317qQK9z1A

More from the press release:<blockquote>Partnering with the BC Cancer Agency's Genome Sciences Centre, Dr. Aparicio's team used the latest in next-generation DNA sequencing technology to study the evolution of a single patient's lobular breast cancer tumour over a nine-year interval. They found 32 mutations in the metastatic cancer tumour and then looked to see how many of those same spelling mistakes were present in the original tumour. The result was surprising - only five of the 32 could have been present in all of the cells of the primary tumour, thus fingering them as the criminals that caused the disease to get started in the first place. These five mutations were previously unknown to researchers as playing a role in cancer.</blockquote>I wonder if that applies to other forms of cancer, as well.

 

I want to run this, but AP is giving me the run-around, patching me through to 5 different desks to ask the same question over and over.

 

It's __________day. You have to expect that on __________day.

(Keep, make extra copies, fill in blanks as needed, redeploy.)

 

How are they going to find genetic spelling mistakes if they can't even spell tumor?

Otherwise, godspeed to those working on this.

 

What was that about Canadian health care?

 

Tumour would be CQ in Canada, I believe.

I hope this is as promising as it sounds.

 

If they crack it, the least we can do as writers is spell it right.

Keep up the good work, researchers!

 

Awesome news, good luck to the researchers.