Huge Step: Cancer Code Cracked By Scientists

A group of scientists in Britain have recently made a huge leap forward and also made medical history by cracking the genetic code of cancer for two of the disease’s deadliest forms. The move is certain to revolutionise cancer treatments in the near future.

Branding the moment as pivotal in the history of cancer research, British scientists have managed to demonstrate the subtle cellular modifications associated with lung and skin cancers.

The group elaborated a “map” detailing every single minute DNA change that occurs at the cellular level of victims of the disease.

This means that within a few years, people suffering from one of these types of cancers may receive a blood test which will lead to a “map” pointing to which drug might be the most effective treatment.

Welcome Trust Sanger Institute’s Cancer Genome Project researcher Professor Mike Stratton, the lead scientist for the study, said this will change the way the scientific community will perceive cancer, adding that the news signified a fundamental development in cancer research.

Findings reveal that in lung cancer cases, they are 23,000 mutations in the DNA code of the patients, mostly associated with the use of tobacco.

Scientists now believe that every quantity of 15 cigarettes provoke a mutation within the DNA. Researchers claimed that lung cancer could be triggered after 20,000 mutations, although not every mutation is harmful.

It’s known that of all the cancers, the one affecting the lungs is considered to be the deadliest one, with a small fraction of those diagnosed with the disease still alive 5 years after its unset.

The reason for the high level of fatalities associated with lung cancer is because the disease is difficult to diagnose at its early stages.

According to Cancer Research UK chief executive Harpal Kumar, this research demonstrates for the first time and in a precise way the full impact smoking has on the system in respect to cancer development.