Ontario Institute for Cancer Research

Published this week in Nature Genetics, a global team of scientists led by MaRS tenant the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research as well as Cancer Care Ontario reported that they found the first genetic predictor for colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer in Canada. This is good news especially for those living in Ontario, which has one of the highest incidences for colorectal cancer in the world.

Although colorectal cancer is 90% curable with early detection, most cases are detected far too late and usually end in death. With this breakthrough, we should soon be able to treat and cure almost 100% of colorectal cancer with early screening.

Researchers from Canada, US, England, Scotland and France analyzed over 100,000 genetic elements from the genomes of over 10,000 people to find a common genetic variation on chromosome 8q24 called rs6983267, which is highly linked to colorectal cancer. Independent studies from teams in the US and England verified these findings. Even more exciting is the fact that this site may be involved in the cause of other cancers such as prostate and breast cancer.

“This is the first example of our ability to look at somebody, even in childhood or in utero, and make predictions of their lifetime risk of colon cancer,” said Dr. Brent Zanke, a scientist at Cancer Care Ontario and co-leader of the study, which used findings from the ongoing Assessment of Risk for Colorectal Tumours in Canada (ARCTIC) project.

“This is the first gene that affects a large population. About 30 to 40 per cent of the population carries this risk factor,” said Dr. Tom Hudson, co-principal investigator and president and scientific director of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research.

Premier Dalton McGuinty congratulated the Ontario researchers the following day for their breakthrough. “Ontario is home to some of the most talented medical researchers in the world,” said Premier McGuinty. “By supporting their work, we can reduce the risk of serious disease like cancer, and help Ontario families lead fuller, healthier lives.”

In the next six months, the team will continue to analyze another 500,000 genetic markers to identify additional common genetic risk predictors for colorectal cancer. Eventually we hope to see new tests and prevention methods based on these findings which will help eliminate at least one form of cancer death.

Great job Ontario!

Further reading:

• Press Release: “Canadian Scientists Identify Chromosome Linked to Colorectal Cancer”
• Toronto Star article: “Ontario-led study finds cancer marker”
• Letter and abstract from Nature Genetics: Genome-wide association scan identifies a colorectal cancer susceptibility locus on chromosome 8q24

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