Genomic profiling of lung tumors helps doctors choose most effective...( DURHAM N.C. -- Determining the genet...),Health

DURHAM, N.C. -- Determining the genetic profile of a particular lung tumor can help clinicians make the crucial decision about which chemotherapy treatment to try first.

A new study led by researchers from the Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy (IGSP) found distinct differences in the susceptibility different tumors have to widely used chemotherapy drugs.

We were able to predict which tumors would be most likely to respond to standard first-line therapy and which would respond better to what has traditionally been a second-line therapy, based on gene expression profiling, said David Hsu, M.D., Ph.D. an oncologist at Duke and lead author on the publication. This represents a big step in the move toward individualized medicine. This could also make a huge difference in the treatment of patients with late-stage lung cancer, as most of these patients gain the most benefit from their initial treatment strategy.

The researchers published their findings in the October 1, 2007 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study was funded by the Jimmy V Foundation and the National Cancer Institute.

Researchers looked at the sensitivity of multiple cancerous cell lines to cisplatin, the most commonly used agent in the treatment of lung cancer. After determining which cell lines were responsive to cisplatin they looked at the RNA of these tumors and generated a genomic signature -- a pattern of gene expression particular to each individual sample. They were able to draw conclusions about which genes were turned on and which were turned off in these samples, and subsequently created a genomic map for cisplatin sensitivity. The genomic map was then applied to 91 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor samples to determine which tumors were most likely to be responsive to cisplatin, Hsu said.

We found that tumors known to be sensitive to cisplatin expressed certain
'/>"/>