The cancer genome in context: of mice and mutations

The following is an edited excerpt.

Scientists started to identify the most common mutations found in the most common cancers back in the 1970s. By now, the era of cancer genomics research is well established and several centers around the world are starting to study how to incorporate genomics into clinical cancer diagnostics and treatment.

The power and the promise of genomics is that, given enough money, we can start to personalize the treatment given to each patient. But if the history of cancer research and treatment has taught us one thing, however, it’s that things are never quite that simple.

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Read the full story here: The cancer genome in context: of mice and mutations

Additional Resources:

• The Cancer Genome Atlas
  Learn more about the the field of cancer genomics at this website from the National Cancer Institute.
• “Mouse ‘avatars’ could aid pancreatic cancer therapy,” Nature
  Researchers may some day be able to used “personalized” mouse models–mice that contain tissue from a specific patient’s tumor–to test cancer treatments.