Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
A NEW STUDY WITH THE CANCER GENOME ATLAS HAS IDENTIFIED THE
KEY GENOME OF THE SECOND MOST COMMON FORM OF LUNG CANCER.
WE RECENTLY SAT DOWN WITH ONE OF THE STUDY'S LEAD RESEARCHERS TO
LEARN MORE.
DR. NEIL HAYES, WELCOME TO "NORTH CAROLINA NOW."
>> THANK YOU.
>> YOU ARE AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT THE LINEBERGER
COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER.
YOU AND YOUR COLLEAGUES AT UNC AS WELL AS RESEARCHERS ACROSS
THE NATION HAVE BEEN WORKING ON STUDYING THE GENOME OF THE
SECOND MOST DEADLY TYPE OF LUNG CANCER, AND YOU'VE RECENTLY HIT
A MILESTONE WITH THIS PROJECT.
TELL US ABOUT THAT.
>> YES, WE HAVE.
I'M A MEMBER OF THE CANCER GENOME ATLAS.
THIS IS A LARGE PUBLICLY FUNDED PROJECT FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL
CANCER INSTITUTE, NATIONAL HUMAN GENOME RESEARCH INSTITUTE, AND
APPROXIMATELY SEVEN YEARS INTO OUR PROJECT, WE FINALLY
COMPLETED THE SQUAMOUS CELL LUNG CANCER CANCER GENOME ATLAS
PROJECT.
SO THIS IS PUBLISHED EARLIER THIS MONTH IN THE JOURNAL
"NATURE."
AND WE DESCRIBED ESSENTIALLY THE GENOME OF 178 PATIENTS WITH
SQUAMOUS CELL LUNG CANCER.
>> WHAT INFORMATION DOES THIS NOW GIVE US ABOUT THIS TYPE OF
LUNG CANCER?
>> WELL, CANCER IS A DISEASE OF DNA.
ULTIMATELY, WHAT'S WRONG WITH A CANCER CELL IS THERE'S SOMETHING
BROKEN ABOUT THE DNA, AND IT TURNS OUT THAT DNA CAN BE BROKEN
IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
BEFORE THIS PROJECT, WE'VE HAD SNAPSHOTS INTO THE WAYS IN WHICH
THE CANCER GENOME IS BROKEN, BUT THIS IS THE FIRST PROJECT THAT
HAS REALLY TAKEN ALL OF THE TECHNOLOGIES WE HAVE AVAILABLE
TO US TO LOOK AT 178 PATIENTS AT ONE TIME WITH THE BROADEST
SPECTRUM OF TECHNOLOGIES THAT WE COULD MUSTER TO SEE WHAT'S
ACTUALLY WRONG WITH THE GENOMES OF SQUAMOUS CELL LUNG CANCER.
>> WHERE WILL THIS TAKE US IN THE FUTURE?
ARE THERE APPLICATIONS FOR NEW THERAPIES THAT COULD COME OUT OF
THIS INFORMATION?
>> ABSOLUTELY.
AS I MENTIONED, THIS IS CALLED THE CANCER GENOME ATLAS, AND I
THINK THE WORD ATLAS IS A GREAT ANALOGY FOR WHAT WE'RE LOOKING
AT HERE.
IN THE PAST, WE'VE HAD SNAPSHOTS OR ESSENTIALLY SKETCHES OF
WHAT'S WRONG IN THE CANCER GENOME, BUT NOW FOR THE FIRST
TIME WE ACTUALLY HAVE A MAP OR AN ATLAS WHERE WE CAN REALLY
DESCRIBE ALL OF THE ALTERATIONS OF THE CANCER GENOME AND TO
START THINKING ABOUT WHAT ARE THE THERAPIES TO DIRECT TOWARDS
INDIVIDUAL PATIENTS WITH SQUAMOUS CELL LUNG CANCER OR TO
GROUPS OF PATIENTS WHO MIGHT SHARE AN ALTERATION SO WE SEE
BOTH INDIVIDUAL ALTERATIONS THAT COULD BE TARGETED WITH DRUGS,
AND IN OTHER CASES WE SEE GENES OR PATHWAYS THAT ARE ALTERED IN
MOST PATIENTS WITH SQUAMOUS CELL LUNG CANCER.
>> THIS IS, AS YOU MENTIONED, PART OF A LARGER PROJECT.
TELL US ABOUT THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING AT UNC, BECAUSE
IT'S NOT JUST ON THIS TYPE OF LUNG CANCER.
YOU'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT A BROAD VARIETY OF CANCERS.
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
THE CANCER GENOME ATLAS FOLLOWS ON THE HEELS VERY CLOSELY OF THE
HUMAN GENOME, WHICH WAS PUBLISHED APPROXIMATELY THE YEAR
2000.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS TO PUBLISH THE GENOME, WHICH IS THE
NORMAL DNA THAT MAKES -- OF WHICH WE'RE ALL COMPRISED, IS TO
THEN LOOK AT DISEASE STATES.
SO ONE OF THE EASIEST EXAMPLES TO STUDY IS CANCER, BECAUSE
CANCER IS A DISEASE OF DNA.
SO LEADERSHIP AT THE NCI AND NHGRI PROPOSED THAT WE GATHER
LARGE NUMBERS OF PATIENTS WITH CANCER AND DESCRIBE ALTERATIONS
IN CANCER.
AND WHEN WE PUT THAT DOWN ON PAPER AND WROTE THE PROJECT OUT,
THAT ENDED UP BEING 20 CANCERS, 500 PATIENTS FROM EACH OF THOSE
CANCER TYPES, AND WE'RE NOW APPROACHING THE HALFWAY -- MORE
THAN THE HALFWAY MARK OF OUR GOAL OF DOING 20 CANCERS WITH
500 PATIENTS WITH EACH CANCER.
>> WHAT OTHER TYPES OF CANCER ARE YOU LOOKING AT?
>> SO FAR WE'VE PUBLISHED THE GENOMES FOR GLIOBLASTOMA, WHICH
IS A BRAIN CANCER, COLON CANCER, OVARIAN CANCER, EARLIER THIS
MONTH BREAST CANCER, SQUAMOUS CELL LUNG CANCER, AND WE'D HAVE
TO COUNT THEM UP, BUT WE'RE COUNTING UP TOWARDS 20, BUT IT
INCLUDES ALL OF THE MAJOR TUMORS FOR WHICH TUMORS COULD BE
OBTAINED.
SOME TUMORS ARE A CHALLENGE TO US.
WE'RE DOING THOSE, TOO.
THOSE INCLUDE MELANOMA, WHICH ARE USUALLY SMALL, AND THERE ARE
TECHNICAL CHALLENGES ABOUT WHICH TUMORS WE'VE TAKEN ON.
>> WHAT IS IT LIKE FOR YOU AS A RESEARCHER TO BE STUDYING THESE
CANCERS AND KNOW THAT THE INFORMATION YOU'RE FINDING COULD
HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON PEOPLE'S LIVES?
>> IT'S A GREAT TIME TO BE A CANCER RESEARCHER.
JUST -- I CAN ONLY IMAGINE IT'S LIKE WHEN THE MICROSCOPE WAS
DISCOVERED, THAT WE HAVE A NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT ALLOWS US TO
LOOK INTO THE DISEASE IN A WAY THAT WE COULD NEVER DO BEFORE.
CANCER IS A DISEASE OF DNA.
WE NEED TO LOOK AT DNA.
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME WE CAN DO THIS QUICKLY, COMPLETELY, WITH
HIGH QUALITY.
WE STILL HAVE SOME LIMITATIONS, BUT WE'VE NEVER HAD ABILITIES
LIKE WE DO NOW.
TO LOOK AT A DISEASE AND GET VERY CLOSE TO THOSE ASPECTS THAT
WILL HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON PATIENTS.
>> HAS THERE BEEN ANYTHING IN THE STUDY THAT YOU'VE FOUND THAT
HAS REALLY SURPRISED YOU?
>> I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO TELL YOU ABOUT ALL THE
AMAZING SURPRISES.
BUT THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE RESOURCE THAT WE WILL BE USING
FOR DECADES, I THINK.
THERE ARE A COUPLE OF SURPRISES.
FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S A PATHWAY THAT WAS KNOWN TO BE ALTERED IN
CANCER.
THE PATHWAY RELATES TO TWO GENES.
SO IT WASN'T SO MUCH A SURPRISE THAT THOSE GENES WERE ALTERED,
BUT WE FOUND THAT PATHWAY ALTERED IN ABOUT A THIRD OF
SQUAMOUS CELL LUNG CANCER.
SO THIS IS A FUNDAMENTAL OBSERVATION THAT IF WE WANT TO
IMPACT SQUAMOUS CELL LUNG CANCER, WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND
THAT PATHWAY.
AGAIN, IT WAS KNOWN IT WAS ABNORMAL, BUT WE'VE NOW
HIGHLIGHTED THAT WE HAVE GOT TO ATTACK THIS OR WE'RE NOT GOING
TO UNDERSTAND SQUAMOUS LUNG CANCER.
>> SO THERE'S A LOT MORE STUDYING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE
NOW THAT WE'VE GOTTEN THE GENOME.
>> YES.
AND SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE A PAINTER WHO'S GONE INTO A ROOM
AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE ALL THE SANDING.
WE'VE MOVED THE FURNITURE.
WE'VE COVERED THE FLOORS.
AND THE ROOM IS PREPPED.
AND I THINK WE'RE ABOUT TO SEE THE PAINT GOING ON THE WALL,
REALLY SEE THE CHANGES COMING FORWARD.
WE'RE NOT QUITE THERE YET.
IT STILL LOOKS LIKE A WORK SITE.
BUT WHEN YOU LAY A GOOD FOUNDATION, I THINK YOU CAN SEE
AMAZING THINGS COMING QUICKLY, AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE
WE'RE -- THAT'S WHERE WE ARE.
>> AND IF OUR VIEWERS WANT TO FOLLOW THE WORK THAT YOU'RE
DOING THROUGHOUT THIS PROJECT, HOW IS THE BEST WAY FOR THEM TO
DO THAT?
>> OH, IT -- IF YOU PUT TCGA INTO YOUR SEARCH ENGINE, YOU
WILL FIND A WONDERFUL WEBSITE AT THE NCI THAT HAS ALL OF OUR
UPDATES, AND I WOULD START THERE.
>> DR. NEIL HAYES, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR
SCHEDULE TO TALK WITH US.
>> MY PLEASURE.