Genomics of Cancer and a New Era for Cancer Prevention.

A primary justification for dedicating substantial amounts of research funding to large-scale cancer genomics projects of both somatic and germline DNA is that the biological insights will lead to new treatment targets and strategies for cancer therapy. While it is too early to judge the success of...

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Main Authors: Paul Brennan, Christopher P Wild
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-11-01
Series:PLoS Genetics
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1005522&type=printable
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author Paul Brennan
Christopher P Wild
author_facet Paul Brennan
Christopher P Wild
author_sort Paul Brennan
collection DOAJ
description A primary justification for dedicating substantial amounts of research funding to large-scale cancer genomics projects of both somatic and germline DNA is that the biological insights will lead to new treatment targets and strategies for cancer therapy. While it is too early to judge the success of these projects in terms of clinical breakthroughs, an alternative rationale is that new genomics techniques can be used to reduce the overall burden of cancer by prevention of new cases occurring and also by detecting them earlier. In particular, it is now becoming apparent that studying the genomic profile of tumors can help to identify new carcinogens and may subsequently result in implementing strategies that limit exposure. In parallel, it may be feasible to utilize genomic biomarkers to identify cancers at an earlier and more treatable stage using screening or other early detection approaches based on prediagnostic biospecimens. While the potential for these techniques is large, their successful outcome will depend on international collaboration and planning similar to that of recent sequencing initiatives.
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spelling doaj-art-9f912192b29e4e2e84f50cac1521602f2025-08-20T02:22:40ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Genetics1553-73901553-74042015-11-011111e100552210.1371/journal.pgen.1005522Genomics of Cancer and a New Era for Cancer Prevention.Paul BrennanChristopher P WildA primary justification for dedicating substantial amounts of research funding to large-scale cancer genomics projects of both somatic and germline DNA is that the biological insights will lead to new treatment targets and strategies for cancer therapy. While it is too early to judge the success of these projects in terms of clinical breakthroughs, an alternative rationale is that new genomics techniques can be used to reduce the overall burden of cancer by prevention of new cases occurring and also by detecting them earlier. In particular, it is now becoming apparent that studying the genomic profile of tumors can help to identify new carcinogens and may subsequently result in implementing strategies that limit exposure. In parallel, it may be feasible to utilize genomic biomarkers to identify cancers at an earlier and more treatable stage using screening or other early detection approaches based on prediagnostic biospecimens. While the potential for these techniques is large, their successful outcome will depend on international collaboration and planning similar to that of recent sequencing initiatives.https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1005522&type=printable
spellingShingle Paul Brennan
Christopher P Wild
Genomics of Cancer and a New Era for Cancer Prevention.
PLoS Genetics
title Genomics of Cancer and a New Era for Cancer Prevention.
title_full Genomics of Cancer and a New Era for Cancer Prevention.
title_fullStr Genomics of Cancer and a New Era for Cancer Prevention.
title_full_unstemmed Genomics of Cancer and a New Era for Cancer Prevention.
title_short Genomics of Cancer and a New Era for Cancer Prevention.
title_sort genomics of cancer and a new era for cancer prevention
url https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1005522&type=printable
work_keys_str_mv AT paulbrennan genomicsofcancerandaneweraforcancerprevention
AT christopherpwild genomicsofcancerandaneweraforcancerprevention