National Institutes of Health to Map Genomic
Changes of Lung, Brain, and Ovarian Cancers
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Human Genome
Research Institute (NHGRI), both part of the National Institutes
of Health (NIH), today announced the first three cancers that will
be studied in the pilot phase of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)
project. The cancers to be studied in the TCGA Pilot Project are
lung, brain (glioblastoma), and ovarian. These cancers, which collectively
account for more than 210,000 cancer cases each year in the United
States, were selected because of the availability of biospecimen
collections that met TCGA’s strict scientific, technical, and ethical
requirements.
“The selection of the first three cancer types to be studied by
TCGA signals the scientific start of this initiative. Thanks to
the tools and technologies developed by the Human Genome Project,
scientists can collaborate to determine whether it will be possible
to develop a useful atlas of the changes in the human genetic blueprint
associated with all types of cancer,” said NIH Director Elias A.
Zerhouni, M.D.
It is estimated that 174,470 new cases of lung cancer will be
diagnosed in the United States in 2006. Lung cancer is the major
cause of cancer-related mortality in both men and women, with an
estimated 162,460 deaths expected to occur in 2006. Brain tumors
account for nearly 90 percent of all primary central nervous system
tumors. It is estimated that 18,820 new cases of brain cancer will
be diagnosed in the United States this year, and 12,820 patients
will die from the disease. Glioblastomas, also called glioblastoma
multiforme or grade IV astrocytoma, are often fatal, malignant
brain tumors that grow and spread very aggressively, and are the
most frequently occurring type of brain cancer. An estimated 20,180
new cases of ovarian cancer and an estimated 15,310 deaths from
the disease are expected in the United States in 2006. Often detected
late, ovarian cancer causes more deaths than any other cancer of
the female reproductive system.
NCI and NHGRI launched TCGA in December 2005 as a collaborative
three-year pilot project to test the feasibility of using large-scale
genome analysis technologies to determine all of the important
genomic changes involved in cancer. When fully operational, TCGA
will consist of four integrated components: a Biospecimen Core
Resource (BCR); Cancer Genome Characterization Centers; Genome
Sequencing Centers; and a Principal Bioinformatics Resource.
Today, the two institutes also announced the biorepositories that
will provide biospecimens of the first three cancer types to be
studied as part of the TCGA Pilot Project. The source of the lung
cancer biospecimens will be the Lung Cancer Tissue Bank of the
Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) clinical trials group, which
is housed at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass.
The source of the brain tumor (glioblastoma) biospecimens will
be MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. The ovarian cancer
biospecimens will be provided by the Gynecologic Oncology Group
tissue bank at the Children’s Hospital of the Ohio State University
in Columbus, Ohio.
NCI and NHGRI also announced today that the International Genomics
Consortium, part of the Translational Genomics Research Institute,
of Phoenix, Ariz., was selected to establish and manage TCGA’s
BCR. The BCR will collect, store, process, and distribute biomolecules
from cancerous and normal samples to the Cancer Genome Characterization
Centers and Genome Sequencing Centers for genomic analysis.
TCGA’s Cancer Genome Characterization Centers will analyze samples
from the BCR to identify key genomic alterations, such as copy
number changes and/or chromosomal rearrangements, some of which
are known to contribute to cancer development and/or progression.
Selected genes will be sequenced by the Genome Sequencing Centers
using high-throughput methods to identify small genomic changes,
such as single base mutations and small insertion/deletions. TCGA
Cancer Genome Characterization Centers and the Genome Sequencing
Centers will be selected in the coming months.
“Cancer is exceedingly complex, and includes more than 200 different
diseases. The overall goal of TCGA is to delve more deeply into
the genetic origins that lead to this complexity, in order to enable
the discovery and development of a new generation of therapies,
diagnostics, and preventive strategies for all cancers,” noted
Acting NCI Director John E. Niederhuber, M.D. “Results from the
TCGA Pilot Project may provide the results we need to detect cancer
early, in its most treatable stage, and provide new targets for
the development of specific therapies.”
“The Cancer Genome Atlas will use cutting-edge technologies and
knowledge from the Human Genome Project and other genomic studies
to assess the range of genomic changes that cause the uncontrolled
cell growth that characterizes cancer,” explained National Human
Genome Research Institute Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. “TCGA
will analyze hundreds of tumor specimens with multiple technologies,
including the comparison of genome sequences from the cancers with
the normal DNA sequence derived from the same patients, in order
to identify changes that are specifically associated with cancer.”
The three cancers selected for study by TCGA were identified in
a process that began in the fall of 2005 with a Request for Information
(RFI) from NCI and notification to NCI Cancer Centers. The goal
of the RFI was to identify candidate biospecimen collections that
employed the highest level of ethical, technical, biologic, pathologic,
and bioinformatics standards in the development of their biorepository.
The collections that qualified were evaluated in a three-stage
process. The primary criteria addressed minimal requirements for
the quality and quantity of the samples and the associated clinical
information. Secondary criteria were then applied to effectively
rank those tumor collections that met the primary criteria. Site
visits to the biorepositories were then conducted by NCI and NHGRI
staff. Critical factors for TCGA, such as timing, logistics, and
the need for re-consent of patients, were factored into selection
of the biorepositories to be considered. Finally, the biorepositories
that emerged from this tiered process were further reviewed by
an expert panel that included representatives from the surgery,
research, pathology, bioethics, and patient advocate communities.
The primary, secondary, and additional criteria are described in
detail at http://cancergenome.nih.gov/media/qanda.asp.
“The Cancer Genome Atlas Pilot Project is an important opportunity
as we survey the potential future of cancer research. We must put
aside our specific disease interests and channel our energy into
the larger issues that can empower the cancer research enterprise
to find new ways to improve outcomes for all cancer patients,” said
Doug Ulman, cancer survivor, chief mission officer of the Lance
Armstrong Foundation, and chair of the NCI Director’s Consumer
Liaison Group.
Success factors for the TCGA Pilot Project include completion
of genomic analysis of the three initial cancer types; identification
of specific alterations in genes associated with cancer; and differentiation
of cancer subtypes based on genomic changes. In addition, the pilot
project will establish a publicly available integrated database
that scientists can use to generate new knowledge through research.
TCGA data will be made available through public databases supported
by NCI’s cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG ) and the National
Library of Medicine’s National Center for Biotechnology Information
(NCBI). TCGA data will be provided in a manner that meets the highest
standards for protection and respect of the research participants.
“The Cancer Genome Atlas is a revolutionary project with the potential
to provide cancer researchers the information needed to generate
new hypotheses that can be tested in the laboratory and the clinic,” said
NCI Deputy Director Anna D. Barker, Ph.D. “Achieving the long-term
goal of TCGA to identify all of the significant genomic changes
in all cancers will benefit patients by enabling the discovery
and development of the molecular biomarkers needed to develop targeted
interventions to prevent and cure cancer.”
Data from the TCGA Pilot Project will provide researchers and clinicians
with an early glimpse of what promises to become an unprecedented,
comprehensive “atlas” of molecular information describing the genomic
changes in all types of cancer. TCGA will ultimately enable researchers
throughout the world to analyze and employ the data to develop a
new generation of targeted diagnostics, therapeutics, and preventives
for all cancers, and pave the way for more personalized cancer medicine.
For more details about The Cancer Genome Atlas, please go to http://cancergenome.nih.gov.
More information about lung, brain and ovarian cancers can be
found at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/lung, http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/brain and http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/ovarian,
respectively.
For more information about cancer and the National Cancer
Institute, please visit the NCI Web site at http://www.cancer.gov,
or call NCI’s Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
For more information about the National Human Genome Research
Institute, please visit the NHGRI Web site at http://www.genome.gov.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's
Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and
Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting
and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research,
and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both
common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and
its programs, visit www.nih.gov. |