New Findings on Stomach Cancer Point the Way to More Effective
Treatment
27 September 2011
"Our study provides evidence that a genomic classification of gastric cancer could move patients from being treated with uniform ‘one-size-fits-all’ protocols to personalised and optimised treatment strategies, based on the specific genetic profile of their cancer."
Assoc Prof Patrick Tan, Duke-NUS.
Assoc Prof Patrick Tan and team have embarked on a clinical trial to test if the cancer gene subtype can be used to help clinicians customise therapy best suited for the patient
Some types of gastric cancer may respond better to chemotherapy drugs and patients with these types of the disease stand a greater chance of survival. Based on a new way of classifying types of stomach cancers through their genetic make-up, researchers from the Singapore Gastric Cancer Consortium (SGCC) are proposing to customise treatment according to the individual patient’s type of tumour.
The SGCC team succeeded in identifying two new subtypes of gastric cancer, and demonstrated that the classification of these new subtypes may be associated with differences in patient survival and responses to standard chemotherapy. The study, led by Assoc Prof Patrick Tan from Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School (Duke-NUS), the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore), was published in the August issue of Gastroenterology, a top journal in gastrointestinal disease. Applying their newfound knowledge, the team has embarked on a clinical trial to test if the cancer gene subtype can be used to help clinicians customise therapy best suited for the patient.
SGCC’s Lead Principal Investigator Assoc Prof Yeoh Khay Guan, Vice-Dean (Academic Affairs) at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, said: “The study and the ensuing clinical trial is a good illustration of translational research, marshalling the power of science to address a critical clinical need. Singapore’s strength is the ability to integrate and combine clinical and scientific expertise to solve important clinical questions, and to bring together different disciplines, approaches and capabilities to solve difficult problems.”
The SGCC comprises a multi-disciplinary group of scientists and clinicians from Duke-NUS; the National University Health System; National University Cancer Institute, Singapore; National Cancer Centre Singapore; CSI Singapore; GIS and four public hospitals.