Cancer treatment in the future may need to be based on more than one biopsy, as new research
has found that there is significant variation in the genetics of a tumour.
The study by scientists at the London Research Institute and the UCL Cancer
Institute conducted a genome-wide analysis of cancerous kidneys. They found
that around two-thirds of abnormal genes were not consistent across samples
from the same tumour.
"The next step will be to understand what's driving this diversity in
different cancers and identify key driver mutations that are common throughout
all parts of a tumour," said the lead author of the work professor Charles
Swanton.
In total, doctors assessed more than 118 different mutations, 40 of which were
shared by all tumours, but 25 were unique to specific cancers.
According to Cancer Research UK, more than one in three people will develop
cancer at some point in their lives.
© Adfero Ltd
Cancer treatment news : 10 March 2012
