Making strides in understanding cancer
Joe Gray, Ph.D., a lead scientist with the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute, was involved in two studies published this week that make strides in understanding cancer.
Joe Gray, Ph.D., a lead scientist with Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute
One of the studies, published in the June 30 edition of Nature, is the first comprehensive catalog of the genetic aberrations responsible for an aggressive type of ovarian cancer that accounts for 70 percent of all ovarian cancer deaths. The catalog is the most expansive genomic analysis of any cancer to date and a major step toward the personalized treatment of ovarian cancer.
The other study, published in the July edition of Cancer Discover, also involved ovarian tumors. Gray and other researchers used a statistical approach for the first time to map out the order in which cancer cell mutations occurred in advanced ovarian and skin tumors. Zeroing in on the early cell mutations that enable a cancer to grow is one of the best ways to find a personalized therapy to stop it.
Paul Spellman, Ph.D., who joins OHSU’s Knight Cancer Institute July 1, was also involved with both studies. At OHSU, Spellman will be an associate professor in the Department of Molecular & Medical Genetics.
