Cancer Research UK-funded scientists at the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) and Cambridge-based startup Tailor Bio, have created a test which can successfully predict whether cancer will resist common forms of chemotherapy treatment.
It works by looking at changes to the order, structure and number of copies of DNA within the cancer – known as chromosomal instability (CIN) signatures. These signatures are found by reading the full DNA sequence of the tumour and looking for patterns in how the chromosomes are disrupted when compared to normal cells.
The test can then accurately predict resistance to treatment of three common types of chemotherapy – platinum-based, anthracycline and taxane chemotherapy. Cancer Research UK and NHS England analysis shows that tens of thousands of people are treated with platinum- and taxane-based chemotherapies every year in England*.
Chemotherapy is an effective form of cancer treatment but can be toxic to healthy cells as well as cancer cells, resulting in unpleasant side-effects. In the future, scientists hope that this test could be used at diagnosis to predict how likely each type of chemotherapy will work against different cancers. This would allow them to offer tailored treatment, by avoiding giving patients chemotherapies which won’t work for them.
Professor of Ovarian Cancer Medicine at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and Honorary Consultant in medical oncology at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Professor James Brenton, said:
“Chemotherapy is a mainstay of cancer treatment and saves many lives. Yet in many cases, it has been administered the same way for over 40 years. Sadly, there are too many cases where cancer is resistant to chemotherapy treatment – meaning unpleasant side-effects for the patient with limited benefit to them.
“With genomic sequencing now more widely available, we can make some of the most well-established chemotherapies work better. By understanding who is most likely to respond to it, chemotherapy could become a more tailored treatment across different types of cancer.”
* Cancer Research UK analysis reveals that more than 11,000 people receive cisplatin, nearly 29,000 people receive carboplatin and more than 18,000 people receive oxaliplatin. More than 14,000 people receive docetaxel and nearly 20,000 people receive paclitaxel.
