Scientists decode DNA to find breast tumor signatures that predict treatment response

Decoding DNA finds breast tumor signatures that predict treatment response

June 10, 2012 in Genetics

Decoding the DNA of women with advanced breast cancer has allowed scientists to identify distinct cancer "signatures" that could help predict which patients are most likely to benefit from estrogen-lowering therapy, often prescribed to shrink large tumors before surgery. Compared to women who responded to the drugs, those who didn't had tumors that were genomically more unstable, with higher rates of mutations and other changes. Above, a circos plot of tumor DNA from a patient who didn't respond to the drugs. Credit: The Genome Institute at Washington University in St. Louis.

Decoding the DNA of patients with advanced breast cancer has allowed scientists to identify distinct cancer "signatures" that could help predict which women are most likely to benefit from estrogen-lowering therapy, while sparing others from unnecessary treatment.