IIT Madras launches first-of-its-kind cancer genome database
National Cancer Registry Programme mentions one in nine people in India likely to develop cancer
Cancer is one of the most fatal health problems globally. A recent Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) report indicated that the number of people living with this deadly disease continues to rise.
The National Cancer Registry Programme reported that one in nine people in India are likely to develop cancer in their lifetime and 14,61,427 people are currently living with cancer. There is a 12.8% increase in cancer incidence every year since 2022.
Despite having a high cancer incidence, India has been under-represented in global cancer genome studies. In the absence of genomic architecture of cancers prevalent in India, specific genetic variants from Indian cancers are not adequately captured and catalogued for any diagnostic kits and drug development.
In order to fill the gap in genomic landscape for different cancers in India, IIT Madras initiated the cancer genome programme in 2020. Under this programme, the 960 whole exome sequencing from 480 breast cancer patient tissue samples collected across the country has been completed.
IIT Madras in collaboration with Karkinos Healthcare, Mumbai, the Chennai Breast Clinic and Cancer Research and Relief Trust, Chennai analysed the data and assembled the anonymised summary of genetic variants from Indian breast cancer samples.
Prof V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, announced the completion of the Indian breast cancer genome sequence generation and released the ‘Bharat Cancer Genome Atlas’ (BCGA) on the campus recently, The institute has made this database publicly accessible at bcga.iitm.ac.in to researchers and clinicians in India and abroad.
Highlighting the benefits to not just India but the global research community from ‘Bharat Cancer Genome Atlas’, Prof Kamakoti said, “The Atlas fills the gap in genomic landscape from different cancers in the country. It provides a compendium of genetic variants representing the contemporary Indian breast cancer population to classify variants involved in early diagnostics, disease progression, and treatment outcomes.”
The Research was led by the Institute’s Centre of Excellence on Cancer Genomics and Molecular Therapeutics, which was funded under the Government of India’s ‘Institutions of Eminence’ initiative.
This 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 shift toward a vision of “personalized medicine” which may improve the standard of medical care by including an individual’s genetic and molecular information in the clinical decision-making process.
