TCGA papers chart genomic landscape of melanoma, low grade glioma
By Ó³»´«Ã½ Communications
Researchers from the (TCGA), including scientists from the Ó³»´«Ã½ of MIT and Harvard, recently published two papers documenting the genomic landscapes of two cancers: and . The papers establish a framework for genomic classification for the two forms of cancer, dividing them into genetic subcategories and providing a more accurate diagnostic strategy than traditional approaches, which rely on subjective examinations of tissue under a microscope. The glioma study (published in the New England Journal of Medicine and covered in the ) reveals a pattern of molecular alterations that is associated with better clinical outcomes. The melanoma study (which appeared in Cell and was covered by ) is the largest of its kind to date, with data from 331 patient tumor samples.