A new method for assessing the genetic variability of tumor cells will allow oncologists to identify patients with the most aggressive cancer and predict a response to therapy.
A unique technology was presented by researchers from the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Ohio State University, Arthur James Cancer Hospital and Richard Solow Research Institute (OSUCCC - James).
The scientists named their method of estimating MATH (mutant-allele tumor heterogeneity).
To develop it, they used the genetic analysis of cancer cells taken from 305 patients with head and neck tumors from the Atlas of the Cancer Genome (TCGA). A high score on the MATH scale corresponds to the presence of a large number of different mutations in cells.
Researchers say that the presence of cells with different genetic mutations in one tumor (intracerebral heterogeneity) is associated with low survival of patients. If prospective studies confirm the reliability of the MATH method, then it can be used to select the most effective treatment and prognosis.
"For a long time, scientists believed that the presence of multiple subpopulations of cancer cells within one tumor is associated with worse clinical outcomes. Nevertheless, oncologists today do not use intracellular heterogeneity for making clinical decisions and prognosis, because there is still no exact and simple way to do this in a hospital, "authors of the new method.
To solve this problem, Dr. James Rocco (James Rocco) and his colleagues developed the MATH scale, which greatly simplifies the assessment of the genetic variability of cancer cells and gives it a very concrete practical meaning.
The results of their work were published recently in the online magazine PLOS Medicine. In their article, scientists described how they managed to confirm the relationship between high genetic variability of squamous cell carcinoma and mortality.
"Genetic variability within the tumor usually explains why patients do not respond to therapy. Patients with highly heterogeneous tumors have cells with different mutations that cause cancer resistance to a particular therapy, "explains Rocco, professor of oncology, head of the Department of Head and Neck Surgery OSUCCC-James.
To develop the MATH, the data from the atlas TCGA, which is a project of the National Institutes of Health of the USA. This project, in which scientists collect tumor samples from all over the country, was launched in 2006. Today in the atlas there are more than 11 000 samples of 33 types of tumors.
The researchers performed a genetic sequencing of each sample of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, then systematized all identified cell mutations. They confirmed that with the growth of intracellular heterogeneity, mortality increases.
Every 10% of the score on the MATH scale corresponded to an increase in the death rate of patients by an average of 8.8%. Scientists have taken into account the presence of papillomavirus and important molecular characteristics of tumors.
"Our analysis showed that patients with high heterogeneity of tumors die twice as much compared to a group in which tumor cells are relatively homogeneous. This information can significantly affect the forecasting and decision-making, "says Professor.
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