Study reveals clues to cancer causes and potential for personalised treatment

Analysis of thousands of tumours has unveiled a treasure trove of clues about the causes of cancer, representing a significant step towards the personalisation of treatment, a study suggests.

Researchers say that for the first time it is possible to detect patterns – called mutational signatures – in the DNA of cancers.

These provide clues including about whether a patient has had past exposure to environmental causes of cancer such as smoking or UV light, for example.

This is important as these signatures allow doctors to look at each patient’s tumour and match it to specific treatments and medications.

Dr Andrea Degasperi, research associate at the University of Cambridge and first author, said: “Whole genome sequencing gives us a total picture of all the mutations that have contributed to each person’s cancer.

“With thousands of mutations per cancer, we have unprecedented power to look for commonalities and differences across NHS patients, and in doing so we uncovered 58 new mutational signatures and broadened our knowledge of cancer.”

The findings are now being incorporated into the NHS as researchers and clinicians now have the use of a digital tool called FitMS that will help them identify the mutational signature and potentially inform cancer management more effectively.

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Source: The Independent, 21 April 2022

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