A Step Closer to Personalized Cancer Cure
An article published in the September 6 issue of Science Express discusses the breakthrough achieved by the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists who have completed the first draft of the genetic code for breast and colon cancers.
[The study] identifies close to 200 mutated genes, now linked to these cancers, most of which were not previously recognized as associated with tumor initiation, growth, spread or control.
Because no two patients are the same with breast and colon cancer, therapies are very hard to administer. Ultimately, once we know enough about all of the implicated genes, it will be possible to find out which of a particular patient’s genes are affected and treat only those genes. From the BBC Article:
Dr Anna Barker of the National Cancer Institute said: “Maximising the numbers of targets available for drug development in a specific cancer means that patients will ultimately receive more personalized, less toxic therapies.”
She also said: “In the future, scientists hope to be able to tailor plans for preventing or treating cancer to each person’s individual genetic profile. Studies like this can help us to accomplish this goal.”
Read more:
- BCC Article: Experts crack cancer ‘gene codes’
- John Hopkins Hospital News: GENOME CODE CRACKED FOR BREAST AND COLON CANCERS
- Science Article: The Consensus Coding Sequences of Human Breast and Colorectal Cancers [pdf]
Things are advancing fast on my job search so far in October. Since I learned from my friend Jean-Philipe, through our common friend Sylvain, that Nuance Communications is looking for a person with a Mathematical and Programming background to fill in a position as a Speech Scientist, I have been super excited about this opportunity. First, I did some research on the subject and talked with Jean-Philipe about the position. I also read a little bit about the company and the science behind Speech Recognition. I had no idea it was such an interesting field of Mathematical applications. Anyways. Then I sent my Resume and nice little cover letter (which was appreciated by the recruiter apparently!).