Abstract 3935: International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC)

Abstract

Abstract The International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) is coordinating an extensive research effort to obtain a comprehensive description of genomic, transcriptomic and epigenomic changes in the major forms of cancer. This information will lead to better ways of diagnosing, treating and preventing cancer. The announcement of the ICGC Goals, Structure, Policies and Guidelines to the international scientific community in 2008 enabled funding agencies and research groups to plan their participation within the ICGC. Over 200 authors engaged in ICGC projects published a Nature paper in April 2010. The paper outlines the ethical framework, study design, use of common standards of data collection and analysis and describes how the projects will proceed. As of November 2010, the ICGC has received commitments from funding organizations in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America for the projects listed in the table (below). Over time, additional nations and organizations are anticipated to join the ICGC. Each Cancer Genome Project is expected to involve specimens from approximately 500 patients. Over the next ten years, the ICGC expects to produce comprehensive catalogues of the full range of genetic mutations involved in 50 types of cancer, with key factors being the ability to detect all mutated cancer genes, data at the level of individual DNA bases, application of common standards for pathology and technology and comparison data from matched, non-tumour tissue. The ICGC's informed consent and ethical oversight policies state that cancer patients enrolled in an ICGC-related study should be informed that their participation is voluntary, that their clinical care will not be affected by their participation and that data obtained from analyses using their samples will be made available to the international research community. The genomic analyses of tumors conducted by ICGC members in the U.K. (breast, lung and skin cancer), Japan (liver cancer), and Australia and Canada (pancreatic cancer) are now available on the ICGC website at www.icgc.org. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3935. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3935