Greater genetic diversity needed to widen genomics benefits in cancer care
- Greater diversity is needed in genetic research to make genomics’ use in cancer care and screening more accurate and reliable for all, according to a new study.
- The research, led by Genomics England and published in The Lancet Oncology, analysed the data of over 14,000 participants with cancer from the 100,000 Genomes Project to examine how ancestry affects identifying genetic changes that may be linked to cancer.
- It showed that fewer actionable genetic changes – those that can be targeted for treatment – were identified in those from non-European backgrounds. Whole genome sequencing was not able to find treatment-relevant findings for 26% of participants of South Asian ancestry compared with 16% of European ancestry.
Scientists find new way to predict how bowel cancer drugs will stop working
- Scientists have developed a tool that can predict how bowel cancer adapts to treatment – helping researchers to design new personalised drugs that will keep patients living well for longer.
- A team from the Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Queen Mary University of London have designed a new technology that uses evolutionary biology to measure and predict how cancer cells will evolve when they are exposed to a new treatment.
- Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK. There are around 44,100 new bowel cancer cases in the UK every year, or around 120 every day. Most bowel cancers are treated with chemotherapies and these treatments haven’t changed in almost 50 years.
Study links different genetic pathways causing irregular heartbeats to different risks of stroke
- A study led by University of Oxford researchers has established that different biological mechanisms underlying a common heart disorder result in different characteristics and complications.
- The results, published in Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine, could enable more tailored approaches to treatment of those with irregular heartbeats.
- This new genetic study, carried out by researchers at Oxford Population Health, supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), provides a more precise understanding of the effects and consequences of specific mechanisms that lead to AF ─ potentially guiding new approaches to stroke prevention in people with the condition.
Life Sciences in the Government’s Industrial Strategy
- The UK Government’s Industrial Strategy outlines a long-term plan for national economic renewal. techUK sets out a summary of the Industrial Strategy published on Monday 23 June. It is accompanied by eight sector-specific plans, including one dedicated to Life Sciences – a sector that the Government has positioned as central to both the UK’s economic and health priorities.
- While the full Life Sciences Sector Plan (LSSP) is yet to be published, the Industrial Strategy sets out some key commitments for the sector.
- It is accompanied by eight sector-specific plans, including one dedicated to Life Sciences – a sector that the Government has positioned as central to both the UK’s economic and health priorities.
