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Cancer patients’ DNA holds a trove of valuable information, but too often that data remain untapped. Now, researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard are seeking to mine that data from patients around the country to tease out a better understanding of one particular cancer, and how to improve its treatment.
The Metastatic Breast Cancer Project — a collaboration of the Broad, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard Medical School — was launched recently. The project asks individuals who have been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer to contribute their stored tumor tissue, medical records, and saliva samples to a national database.
Scientists can then compare the healthy genetic sequence from saliva to the cancerous genetic sequence from the tumor to understand the changes that drive cancer.
Genetics could help improve treatment, too. One of the first studies will look at so-called exceptional responders, patients who see dramatic results from treatments, to determine how their genes affected the outcomes. That could help researchers tailor drugs.
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The team is taking its message to patients via social media and advocacy channels, inviting them to get involved. That makes it one of the few cancer studies that allow patients to directly opt in, representatives of the Broad said.
In its first weeks, the project enlisted more than 500 participants, and researchers hope to enroll 5,000 patients over the next year. The approach, said the lead investigator, Dr. Nikhil Wagle, will democratize current cancer studies. Patients can participate regardless of geography and of the hospital where they sought treatment.
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