IIT Madras releases cancer genome sequencing data

IIT Madras Director Prof V Kamakoti, who launched the database, said it is made publicly accessible to researchers and clinicians in India and abroad
Academic Block at IIT Madras
Academic Block at IIT Madras(Pic: IIT Madras)
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IIT Madras on Monday, February 3, launched the Bharat Cancer Genome Atlas (BCGA) with data on 960 whole exome sequencing it has completed so far from tissue samples collected from 480 breast cancer patients.

The institute said the atlas will be the first of its kind in the country, and the database will be an invaluable resource to identify cancer-specific biomarkers in India, helping in early detection of breast cancers, stated a report by The New Indian Express.

IIT Madras, which launched the cancer genome programme in 2020, has analysed the data and assembled the anonymised summary of genetic variants from Indian breast cancer samples in collaboration with Karkinos Healthcare, Mumbai, the Chennai Breast Clinic and Cancer Research and Relief Trust, Chennai, a release said.

The institute said India has been under-represented in global cancer genome studies despite high cancer incidence and the cancer genome programme was launched to fill this gap.

S Mahalingam, head, Centre of Excellence on Cancer Genomics and Molecular Therapeutics, IIT Madras, said the Genome Atlas also provides knowledge on the genetic basis of cancer progression and evolution and may help the biomedical research and healthcare system in India to shift towards a vision of "personalized medicine", by including an individual's genetic and molecular information in the clinical decision-making process.

He further added BCGA also aims to host data from researchers working on cancer genomics across cancer types and would be open to accepting submissions.

Welcoming the initiative, Dr Venkataraman Radhakrishnan, professor, Medical Oncology, Cancer Institute (WIA), Adyar said most of the studies available on genome sequencing are from western countries done on western populations.

"There is genetic heterogeneity based on ethnicity and race. So, we can't absolutely rely on western data. If we want to see what is the type of genetic genomic alteration in Indian patients, we have to sequence Indian data," he said.

Highlighting that the database is unique, he, however, said, it looked as if it was predominantly from the southern region of India, indicating the need for more data from pan India, according to the report by The New Indian Express.

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