Scientists discover genetic pattern to predict cancer drug success

A pattern of genetic defects in tumors could indicate whether ovarian cancer patients will respond to common chemotherapy agents before  treatment starts, reveals a Cancer Research UK study published in the  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (May 4).

The researchers studied patterns of gene expression that indicate high  levels of abnormal chromosomes, or chromosomal instability, in cancer.  They showed that a subset of these genes are needed by CIN cancer cells  to survive - and that these have higher levels of the genes, making them  more resistant to paclitaxel.

They then investigated whether CIN can help doctors identify which  patients are most likely to respond to the chemotherapy drugs paclitaxel  or carboplatin in a prospective clinical trial of ovarian cancer  patients. Patients with high levels of the CIN gene pattern were more  resistant to paclitaxel. Crucially, patients with high levels of CIN  responded well to carboplatin - another commonly-used ovarian cancer  drug. In contrast, tumors with low levels of CIN were resistant to  carboplatin but responded to paclitaxel. The researchers believe  clinical tests for CIN - which can be identified by dye-stained cells  under a microscope - may be available within five years, saving patients  from ineffective chemotherapy.