Breakthrough in Cancer Research

Skin cancer and lung cancer are two of the most common types of cancers plaguing mankind. Researchers are at the cusp of a new age in detection, prevention and treatment of these ailments along with potentially more now that the entire genome of both cancer strains has been mapped. Professor Michael Stratton, leading the UK team says, “By identifying all the cancer genes we will be able to develop new drugs that target the specific mutated genes and work out which patients will benefit from these novel treatments.” The research has revealed that the cancers are triggered by the introduction of mutations – approximately 30,000 for melanoma and 20,000 for lung cancer. It was determined that each cigarette could introduce up to 15 gene mutations, a sort of Russian Roulette regarding where the mutations may fall; but with the mapped genome, scientists can determine a person’s susceptibility or “progress” towards developing cancer.