China works on genomic testing in diagnosis and treatment

Genetic mutations cause five to ten percent of breast cancers, and getting tested for the gene is the most effective way to determine the risk. This is a new generation of tests that is used in the US and now finds trial ground in China.

There are about 14 million new cases of cancer every year in the world, with this number expected to rise to 19 million by 2025. But treatment is also improving all the time. At a seminar held in Tianjin, Chinese and American scientists and researchers are working together on the application of genomic testing which specifically targets the individual's form of cancer.

A leading lady in hollywood, Angelina Jolie has taken on another cause--breast health.

Writing in the New York Times, Jolie said she has undergone a double mastectomy.The decision was made after she was tested positive for one of the breast cancer genes.

Genetic mutations cause five to ten percent of breast cancers, and getting tested for the gene is the most effective way to determine the risk. This is a new generation of tests that is used in the US and now finds trial ground in China.

Doctors take tissues from the cancer biopsy of an individual patient and analyses them through molecular methods. They look at the expression of the genes and the mutations in the cancer and identify a treatment.

"Individuals with a variable risk of hereditary breast cancer could be identified based on Next Generation Sequencing. And then doctors could recommend personalized prevention and early examination plan for these people at high risk of cancer. NGS can provide effective guidance for appropriate targeted drugs and increase clinical benefits. What's more, NGS is playing a significant role in selecting new target drugs or new clinical trials for drug-resistant patients." Dr. Yu Jinpu said.

Experts from China and the US are working together to use the technology to identify very subtle differences of cancers at a seminar in Tianjin. They expect their cooperation to help achieve much better success rates in treating cancer in the future.

"As we have the international and world cancer declaration, we should join our hands to conquer cancer." Hao Xishan, director of National Clinical Research Center For Cancer, said.

"I am very impressed with the efforts that China is making and the way that it is beginning to use in the national center in Tianjin and in Beijing, to use the genomic testing to fight cancer. I think China is moving very rapidly to the ability to cooperate with the best that is out there in the world, and the stride that it's making with the US is very important and impressive." Raphael Lehrer, president & chief scientist of Genekey, said.