The Cancer Genome Atlas team reports in Nature on its study of 178 lung squamous cell carcinomas in which it found that such tumors are marked by complex genomic changes like rearrangements and copy number alterations. The TCGA team also notes that it found recurrent mutations in most samples, including TP53 mutations, and a number of pathways that are affected by those mutations. Further, the team reports that, for most tumors, it could identify potential therapeutic targets.
As The New York Times' Gina Kolata notes, the study found that different patients with lung squamous cell carcinoma had different mutations, indicating that personalized therapies may be needed to treat the cancer. "Unfortunately, what the Cancer Genome Atlas has revealed is that everyone's cancer could be very different," says William Pao, from the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville and an author of the new paper, in the Times. "The field is really moving toward personalized medicine."
Our sister publication GenomeWeb Daily News has more on the study here.