Genetic codes of two cancers mapped
Friday 18th December 2009
Biomedical scientists have mapped the complete genetic codes of two human cancers for the first time.
A team at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute decoded the genomes of lung and skin cancer.
The study, which was published in the journal Nature, found the DNA information for melanoma contained more than 30,000 errors, almost all of which were caused by overexposure to the sun.
In England and Wales, malignant melanoma causes around 1,500 deaths each year, figures cited by the NHS suggest.
Commenting on the results, research leader Professor Mike Stratton of the Cancer Genome Project said they will change the way cancer is viewed.
He added: "These catalogues of mutations are telling us about how the cancer has developed, so they will inform us on prevention."
The expert went on to say that they reveal the processes which are disrupted in cancer cells and this information can be used in attempts to influence treatments.
Written by Angela Newbury
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