PHG Foundation | Tumour profiling and stratified medicine

Tumour profiling and stratified medicine
4 June 2010 | By Dr Caroline Wright | News story

Cancer is characterised by massive genomic changes, ranging from single point mutations to major chromosomal rearrangements and duplications (see previous news). As a result, the genome of a cancerous tumour is often very different from other tumours, and indeed from an individual’s inherited genome – a fact which has been exploited previously to develop personalised diagnostics (see previous news). Moreover, these changes can affect a tumour’s ability to grow, and how it responds to different drugs.

Cancer Research UK (CRUK) has this week announced a major programme of investment into providing stratified therapies to NHS patients based on genetic testing of their tumours (see press release). The scheme will include six new centres dedicated to systematic genetic testing of cancer tumours. By classifying cancers by the specific genetic changes that drive them, it is hoped that these tests will help physicians decide which of numerous different possible treatment options each patient should receive. Given the substantial proportion of drugs that are currently ineffective or cause intolerable side-effects, if this strategy works, it could not only improve patient care but also save the NHS money through better targeting of resources.

In addition to building valuable partnerships between academic research, industry, health care providers, and patients, the work should provide important evidence about which types of genetic changes in cancer result in better or worse response to treatments. Ultimately, it is hoped that this will “revolutionise cancer care”, and if the initial pilots of a few thousand patients are successful, there are plans to “roll this out across the country starting in 2012”. However, before that can happen, robust evidence will be needed that the testing actually improves outcomes
PHG Foundation | Tumour profiling and stratified medicine