For the first time, scientists have accessed the molecular causes of multiple myeloma – an aggressive, incurable blood cancer with a 5-year survival rate of 40%.
This week, several multiple myeloma genomes have been sequenced. And they reveal an assortment of mutated genes involved (that have never been suspected before) and identify chemical pathways to target in future therapies – some of which are already in development.
The disease begins in the bone marrow, where white blood cells become malignant (pictured), crowding out normal bone marrow cells and attacking solid bone. There are about 20,000 new cases in the US a year.
To map out its genetic code, researchers sequenced 38 tumor genomes from multiple myeloma patients, and then compared them with the patients’ normal DNA sequences.
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