Illumina Cancer Discovery Initiative
Each cancer manifestation can have different underlying genetic factors, making it challenging to develop a standardized approach to treatment. Recent technological advances in DNA sequencing and microarray-based analysis offer the potential for new discoveries that may lead to individualized treatments tailored to a persons' genetic disposition and, possibly, earlier detection for a brighter prognosis.
A Revolution in Cancer Biomarker Discovery
Illumina's Cancer Discovery Initiative aims to produce cutting-edge diagnostics through the application of our core technologies on oncology discovery, validation, and, eventually, diagnostic product development. To accomplish this, lllumina is partnering with cancer research institutions throughout the multi-stage initiative. As an entry point for the Cancer Discovery Initiative, we are targeting ovarian cancer, the leading cause of death from gynecological cancer and fifth leading cause of cancer mortality in women. While early-stage ovarian cancer diagnosis is difficult, it is a critical factor for survival. Five-year survival rates diminish drastically as the disease progresses and 60% of cases relapse after 24 months due to Platinum therapy resistance.
To begin the process, samples were obtained for 25 tumor and 25 normal paired specimens. Each pair was sequenced to compare the whole genomes, methylomes, and transcriptomes in order to identify disease-associated markers. This effort accounted for for 50% of the total cancer genomes sequenced at this time. In the next stage, identified markers will be validated using Illumina's BeadArray technology and targeted resequencing. If these markers prove successful, services to screen for possible cancer biomarkers may be initially offered in Illumina's CLIA laboratory. Ultimately, the goal is to use this content to develop novel diagnostics on Illumina's BeadXpress platform and obtain regulatory clearance.
A Comprehensive Approach to Understanding Cancer
Cancer Targets
Research efforts like these can take years to translate into a diagnostic test. For more information on our progress with ovarian cancer biomarker discovery and our product portfolio for cancer research, download the following literature:
Following the ovarian cancer initiative, we will begin to seek biomarkers for early detection in gastric cancer, followed by the search for colorectal cancer biomarkers indicative of response to adjuvant chemotherapy.
