A Roadmap for Battling Stomach Cancer

Stomach cancer: victims often don't even realize the symtoms: they mis-diagnose an upset stomach or occassional vomiting for something less serious. But the fact is, stomach cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer mortality in the world. Getting a better fix on the causes of stomach cancer will certainly enable scientists to get a better idea on how to combat this vicious disease and may one day lead to a cure.

The scientific world was particularly pleased to hear about a recent stomach cancer breakthrough, where research scientists -- led by Dr. Patrick Tan at the National Cancer Center Singapore (www.nccs.com.sg) -- led an international team of researchers to achieve a breakthrough in stomach cancer research: the team of 12 researchers were from the University of Hong Kong, The University of Tokyo and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Australia (www.petermac.unimelb.edu.au). According to an article in the highly regarded scientific journal Cancer Research (www.cancerres.aacrjournals.org), for the first time, this collaborative effort across four major cancer centers in Asia has resulted in the establishment of a comprehensive molecular map of stomach cancer, which has provided significant findings on the biological pathways involved in this disease.

Over the course of two years, researchers used DNA micro-array technology to molecularly profile tumors from stomach cancer patients. They then combined this information to assemble an unprecedented molecular database of stomach cancer, drawn from over 300 tissue samples. Such cutting edge global research has pushed the boundaries of medical knowledge on the specific behavior of stomach cancer.

This is especially well-received news in Singapore -- where stomach cancer is the 4th most common cause of cancer death. According to an article posted on the NCCS website, through an analysis of the resulting database containing over 20 million interactions among different genes, Dr Tan and his team made 2 significant discoveries:

- Identification of a key pivotal cellular pathway in stomach cancer cells that influences clinical prognosis