University of Michigan Genome Sequencing Project Can Link Mesothelioma Patients to Appropriate Clinical Trial

Late last month Cancer Research UK announced a project designed to bring personalized medicine to the forefront in Europe.  Now, researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and Michigan Center for Translational Pathology (MCTP) have taken on a project focused on genetic sequencing to drive personalized medicine for cancer patients with advanced or treatment-resistant cancer.   This research is critical for mesothelioma which is shown to be chemo-resistant. 

Mesothelioma is a malignant cancer of the lining of the lung and abdomen closely associated with inhaling microscopic asbestos dust. Treatment often includes chemotherapy and radiation, but researchers have recently begun focusing on genetic mutations and biomarkers to gear the treatments to the patients’ unique characteristics.

Genetic research and the discovery of biomarkers, which are DNA sequences that indicate the presence, or in some cases, the absence, of a particular condition or disease, can be useful in diagnosing and treating diseases such as mesothelioma. 

The Michigan Oncology Sequencing Project (MI-ONCOSEQ) project takes advantage of the recent advances in genome sequencing allowing the scientists to scan the entire genome of cancer patients at once and find the “driving mutations” quickly and cost-effectively.  MI-ONCOSEQ then finds the “driving ‘actionable’ mutations in cancer patients to aid in selecting appropriate therapies and/or match patients to appropriate clinical trials.”   

Clinical trials may offer the best available treatment for mesothelioma patients as well as the opportunity to receive new, potentially more effective therapies.  For open clinical trials see ClinicalTrials.gov. 

MI-ONCOSEQ results were published recently in Science Translational Medicine.