Canadian Scientists Decode Genome of Patient’s Metastic Breast Cancer

Vancouver, British Columbia (AHN) – The British Columbia Cancer Agency announced on Wednesday the decoding by scientists from the center of the DNA sequence of a metastic lobular breast cancer tumor. The sequence involves three billion letters.

The finding is considered a breakthrough since it will help discover the secrets how cancer starts and spreads, which could lead to the development of new breast cancer treatments and therapies. The lobular breast cancer tumor is responsible for about 10 percent of all breast cancers.

A team from the BC Cancer Agency’s Genome Sciences Center partnered with the agency’s breast cancer research program to use the most modern DNA sequencing technology to probe the evolution of the lobular breast cancer tumor of one patient covering a nine-year interval. Their study found 32 mutations in the tumor and then examined the number of same spelling mistakes present in the original tumor.

Five of the 32 mutations were pinpointed as present in all of the primary tumor’s cells, identifying them as the starter of the disease. This is the first time the five mutations were known by researchers for their role in beginning the cancer.

Dr. Samuel Aparicio, the head of BC Cancer Agency’s breast cancer research program, said in a statement, “I never thought I would see this in my lifetime. This is a watershed event in our ability to understand the causes of breast cancer and to develop personalized medicines for our patients. The number of doors that can now be opened to future research is considerable.”

BC Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon added, “One in nine women is expected to develop breast cancer, and breast cancer accounts for 29 percent of all cancer diagnoses for BC women. As a result of the efforts of the scientists behind the study, this breakthrough finding gives further hope to the thousands of women with this terrible disease.”

The study is the cover story of the Nature science journal published Thursday.

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