Major breast cancer breakthrough announced at BC Cancer Agency

BC scientists first in world to decode genetic evolution of a breast
cancer tumour

VANCOUVER, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ - For the first time in history, BC Cancer
Agency scientists in British Columbia, Canada have decoded all of the three
billion letters in the DNA sequence of a metastatic lobular breast cancer
tumour, a type of breast cancer which accounts for about 10 per cent of all
breast cancers, and have found all of the mutations, or "spelling" mistakes
that caused the cancer to spread.
The landmark study, which will be published October 8th as the cover story in
the prestigious international science journal Nature, helps unlock the secrets
of how cancer begins and spreads, thus pointing the way to the development of
new breast cancer treatment targets and therapies.
"One in nine women is expected to develop breast cancer, and breast cancer
accounts for 29 per cent of all cancer diagnoses for B.C. women," said Health
Services Minister Kevin Falcon. "As a result of the efforts of the scientists
behind the study, this breakthrough finding gives further hope to the
thousands of women with this terrible disease."
"I never thought I would see this in my lifetime," said Dr. Samuel Aparicio,
head of the breast cancer research program at the BC Cancer Agency, an agency
of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA). "This is a watershed event
in our ability to understand the causes of breast cancer and to develop
personalized medicines for our patients. The number of doors that can now be
opened to future research is considerable."
Partnering with the BC Cancer Agency's Genome Sciences Centre, Dr. Aparicio's
team used the latest in next-generation DNA sequencing technology to study the
evolution of a single patient's lobular breast cancer tumour over a nine-year
interval. They found 32 mutations in the metastatic cancer tumour and then
looked to see how many of those same spelling mistakes were present in the
original tumour. The result was surprising - only five of the 32 could have
been present in all of the cells of the primary tumour, thus fingering them as
the criminals that caused the disease to get started in the first place. These
five mutations were previously unknown to researchers as playing a role in
cancer.
"This study demonstrates the remarkable capacity of next-generation DNA
sequencing technology," says Dr. Marco Marra, Director, BC Cancer Agency's
Genome Sciences Centre. "The project that decoded the first human genome in
2001 took years and an enormous amount of funding. We were able to sequence
the breast cancer genome in weeks and at a fraction of the cost."
"Through our research at the BC Cancer Agency, we are dedicated to finding new
and novel ways to detect cancer earlier and to develop more enhanced
treatments," said Brian Schmidt, Interim President, BC Cancer Agency and
Senior Vice President, Provincial Services, Population and Public Health,
PHSA. "This discovery is a wonderful example of how investment in research is
helping to pave the way toward better outcomes for cancer patients in the
future."
The discovery is not only a major scientific milestone for the BC Cancer
Agency, an acknowledged world leader in cancer research care, but also a
significant testimony to the power of philanthropy invested in science to fuel
cancer research and drive new discoveries.
"The BC Cancer Foundation, as the fundraising arm of the agency, has raised
over $15 million to support breast cancer research at the BC Cancer Agency
across the province, including Dr. Aparicio's program, through its Weekend to
End Breast Cancer walk," said BC Cancer Foundation President and CEO Douglas
Nelson. "We are very grateful to the many thousands of British Columbians who
have walked, donated and supported The Weekend to End Breast Cancer over the
past six years. To everyone who has walked or contributed we can confidently
say your efforts have made a difference - you are a partner in this remarkable
achievement."
The BC Cancer Foundation founded the BC Cancer Agency's Genome Sciences
Centre, the Centre for Translational and Applied Genomics at the BC Cancer
Agency, and the BC Cancer Agency's Breast Cancer Outcomes Unit, all of which
played a key role in the study. The research was conducted in the BC Cancer
Agency's research centre in Vancouver, which was constructed by the BC Cancer
Foundation, with donor and provincial and federal government funding.
The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, BC/Yukon Region supported a key member
of Dr. Aparicio's research team through a bioinformatics fellowship. Other
funders and supporters include the Canadian Institutes for Health Research,
Genome Canada and Genome BC, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and the
Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.
Dr. Aparicio was recruited in 2005 from Cambridge University, UK to develop a
breast cancer research program in British Columbia at the BC Cancer Agency. He
holds the Nan and Lorraine Robertson Chair in Breast Cancer Research at the
University of British Columbia (UBC), the Canada Research Chair in Molecular
Oncology and is a professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory
Medicine at UBC.

The BC Cancer Agency is committed to reducing the incidence of cancer,
reducing the mortality from cancer and improving the quality of life of those
living with cancer. It provides a comprehensive cancer control program by
working with community partners to deliver a range of oncology services,
including prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, research,
education, supportive care, rehabilitation and palliative care. The BC Cancer
Foundation raises funds to support research and enhancements to patient care
at the BC Cancer Agency throughout B.C.

High-resolution photos, video and audio playback of today's
teleconference are available for download at:

http://www.bccancerfoundation.com/cms/page1506.cfm

Other information sources:

- BC Cancer Agency information on breast cancer:
http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/PPI/TypesofCancer/Breast/default.htm

- BC Cancer Agency Molecular Oncology Department:
http://molonc.bccrc.ca/

- BC Cancer Agency Genome Sciences Centre (GSC): http://bcgsc.ca/

- BC Cancer Agency next-generation sequencing information:
http://molonc.bccrc.ca/?page_id=191

- Nature: www.nature.com

- NCI (US) General cancer info: http://www.cancer.gov/ and breast
cancer info: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/breast

- NCIC / Canadian Cancer Society:
http://www.cancer.ca/research/?sc_lang=en, with breast
cancer info at:

http://www.cancer.ca/canada-wide/about%20cancer/types%20of%20cancer/what%20is%20breast%20cancer.aspx?sc_lang=en

- CBCF BC/Yukon Region: http://www.cbcf.org/en-US/bc%20yukon.aspx

SOURCE BC Cancer Foundation

Judy Hamill, BC Cancer Foundation, Tel: (604) 707-5934, Cell: (604) 802-6984;
or Sonya Kruger, BC Cancer Agency, Tel: (604) 877-6020, Pgr: (604) 205-4300