The goal of developing reliable genetic tests to guide lung cancer treatment has taken a step forward. Researchers at Columbia University recently evaluated the ability of five high-risk genetic profiles, or signatures, to predict the likelihood that cancer would recur in patients whose non-small cell lung cancer was caught early and surgically removed. They will present their findings at the American Thoracic Society’s 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Tuesday, May 20.
“Non-small cell lung cancer, which accounts for about 80 percent of all lung cancers, has a high rate of recurrence even when treated early,” said lead researcher William Bulman, M.D. “If we knew specifically in which patients the cancer was likely to come back, we could recommend more aggressive therapy to those patients.” Dr. Bulman noted that genetic signatures for breast cancer are already commercially available and are used by physicians to guide treatment recommendations.
Dr. Bulman and his colleagues, Drs. Charles Powell and Alain Borczuk, tested five survival gene signatures in 21 patients, with squamous or adenocarinoma tumors who were followed for up to two years after their surgery. The accuracy of the tested signatures ranged from 40 to 80 percent and varied with the type of tumor. A 42-gene signature, for instance, was 82 percent accurate in predicting survival with lung adenocarcinoma, but only 70 percent accurate in predicting survival with squamous cell carcinoma.
“Lung cancer is a heterogeneous disease, and information captured in these tests helps to distinguish tumors in terms of clinical outcomes.” explained Dr. Bulman. “Our findings not only indicate that genetic signatures have clinical utility in personalizing the treatment of lung cancer, but also that it may be necessary to use different gene-based risk predictors with different tumor subtypes.”
Dr. Bulman noted that this research is part of a larger effort to understand the biological basis for why some early stage lung cancers progress and metastasize and why some do not. He added that he and his colleagues are planning to test these genetic signatures in new cohorts of patients for the purposes of targeting patients at high risk for recurrence.
Source: American Thoracic Society
Related stories:
Gene panel predicts lung cancer survival, study finds
Researchers from four leading cancer centers have confirmed that an analysis involving a panel of genes can be used to predict which lung cancer patients will have the worst survival. The finding could one day lead to a test that would help determine who needs more aggressive treatment. The study, the largest of its kind, appears online in
Nature Medicine.
An alternative to chemotherapy: Nanoparticles tackle pediatric brain tumors
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, led by Karen L. Wooley, Ph.D., James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences, is a step closer to delivering cancer-killing drugs to pediatric brain tumors, similar to the tumor that Senator Ted Kennedy is suffering from.
Team find gene signature profile for metastasis
A common signature of tiny, specific pieces of non-coding genetic material known as microRNAs (miRNAs) may be directly involved in the spread of cancer to other parts of the body. Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia and Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus have identified such a signature, made up mostly of overexpressed miRNAs. The findings, reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, may represent a novel diagnostic tool in characterizing gene targets in metastatic cancer.
Scientists discover how cigarette smoke causes cancer
Everyone has known for decades that that smoking can kill, but until now no one really understood how cigarette smoke causes healthy lung cells to become cancerous. In a new research report published in the March 2008 print issue of
The FASEB Journal, researchers from the University of California, Davis, show that hydrogen peroxide (or similar oxidants) in cigarette smoke is the culprit.
Researchers discover biomarkers that predict lung cancer patient response to therapy
Researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center have discovered biomarkers that predict which patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer will respond to a combination treatment of the anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex and the growth factor receptor blocker Tarceva.
Gold nanoparticle probes may allow earlier cancer detection
Using tiny gold particles embedded with dyes, researchers have shown that they can identify tumors under the skin of a living animal. These tools may allow doctors to detect and diagnose cancer earlier and less invasively.
Researchers discover method for identifying how cancer evades the immune system
One of the fundamental traits of a tumor – how it avoids the immune system – might become its greatest vulnerability, according to researchers from the University of Southern California. Their findings, demonstrated in human breast and colorectal cancers, indicate that a technique for determining a tumor’s “immune signature,” could be useful for diagnosing and treating specific cancers.
Genomic signatures identify targeted therapies for lung cancer
Any number of things can go wrong in the cells of the body to cause cancer -- and clinicians can't tell by just looking at a tumor what exactly triggered the once normal cells to turn cancerous.