By perusing the contents from the Human Genome Project for clues into the molecular origins and risks for cancer, scientists are now defining sets of genes or "signature portfolios" that best describe a patient's chances for developing cancers, fending off malignancies, and responding to treatment.

Scientists here at the 96th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research tendered "mini-book reports" on research findings made possible by the information encoded in the Human Genome Project.

"Death from Cancer Signature:" Abstract 1644

One such portfolio, dubbed the "Death from Cancer Signature," identifies a set of eleven genes associated with cell proliferation and renewal in both human stem cells and by ten different types of human cancer diagnosed in a wide range of organs.

Despite the ominous sound of its name, information gleaned from these eleven genes unveils opportunities for clinical advances unavailable prior to the full disclosure of the Human Genome Project, according to Gennadi V. Glinsky, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, San Diego, Calif.

"The genes in 'the Death from Cancer Signature' will alert physicians and patients to those who are at much higher risk for metastatic complications and more severe cancer illness as the disease progresses," said Glinsky.

"Those people are genetically less likely to respond to the conventional therapies that work for many other patients."

Early identification of patients who carry in their chromosomes 'the Death from Cancer Signature' will allow clinicians and patients to consider therapeutic strategies beyond the conventional at the time of dia
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Contact: Russell Vanderboom, Ph.D.
vanderboom@aacr.org
215-440-9300
American Association for Cancer Research
19-Apr-2005