Researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have completed the first full genomic sequencing of a brain cancer cell line.
Genomic sequencing may hold the key to developing better treatments and medicines for those suffering from cancer and other diseases, said Dr. Stanley Nelson, senior author of the study and director of the cancer center’s Gene Expression Shared Resource.
Genomic sequencing is a process that breaks down the genome of a cell into fragments and gathers information on the sequence of genes in each fragment, said Michael Clark, a graduate student of human genetics.
“You can imagine if you want to read every newspaper that’s ever been printed, you can break them into articles and have a computer read every article. We break the genomes into pieces and read every piece,” Clark said.
Through sequencing, researchers and doctors can identify mutations, insertions and deletions in the genetic code.
Researchers can then compare the sequence of a cancerous cell to that of a normal, healthy cell in order to assess the differences at a genetic level, Clark said.
Using this technique was ideal for a brain cancer cell since brain cancer has a high number of mutations in its genetic code compared to other cancers, he added.
Some of these mutated genes hold information about brain cancer’s development, Nelson said.
Genomic sequencing is not limited to brain cancer. Researchers can sequence other cancers to learn more about how they develop and react to specific treatments, he said.
“Once we have that knowledge, a subset of those bits of knowledge may be used to design very novel therapies,” Nelson said.
Doctors will then be able to help patients with treatment that is best suited to their individual genetic makeup, he said.
The result is more personalized treatments and medicines that account for the uniqueness of a person’s genes.
The benefits of genomic sequencing are beginning to outweigh the constraints it has on time and money, Nelson said.
He said that researchers spent about one month sequencing the brain cancer cell line, and the study cost about $30,000 to conduct.
With better sequencing technology available, the same data that was collected from the study could be collected routinely from patients for about $3,000 to $5,000.
In comparison, the Human Genome Project took years to finish and cost about $1 billion, Nelson said.
“The general public can much more easily access genetic data than in the past, and it’s going to become much easier for them in the future,” Clark said.
The laboratory in which Clark works has already begun sequencing cells of brain tumors of patients with fatal forms of brain cancer.
Analyzing cancer at a genetic level is important for cancer research as a whole, said Nayson Fernandes, president of the student group Colleges against Cancer at UCLA and fourth-year psychobiology student.
Fernandes got involved with Colleges against Cancer after seeing one of his family members and a few of his close friends suffer from cancer.
“I just could not (help but) put my efforts and energy into trying to actually make a difference,” Fernandes said.
Colleges against Cancer conducts fundraisers in which proceeds are given to cancer research organizations, Fernandes said.
“It seems like the potential for genome sequencing in cancer is huge,” he said.
Within our lifetimes, genetics will be used to diagnose and treat cancer and other diseases, Clark said.
He predicted that routine sequencing of patients with diseases and cancer may become more prevalent within the next year.
“Sequencing is going to become more and more a part of our lives,” Nelson added.