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Molecular Medicine at Fox Chase Cancer Center
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A Genetic Disease
Cancer is a genetic disease, which means that multiple acquired genetic alterations are necessary to convert a normal cell into a tumor cell. Genetic mutations that increase the risk of several cancer types may also be inherited from one's parents.
A Definition:
Molecular medicine is the prevention, diagnosis, prognostication, and treatment of disease, cancer in this case, using genetic information to inform patient care.
There are approximately 20,000 genes in the human genome, which are subject to mutation or altered expression levels, leading to aberrant function of the encoded protein "molecules." The knowledge of genetic alterations that predispose an individual to cancer has substantially improved our ability to prevent certain malignancies, and a deep understanding of the molecular architecture of individual cancers has transformed our ability to manage them.
Fox Chase's research facilities and unique approach foster colloborations such as that shared by Principal Investigator Erica Golemis, PhD and Drew Ridge, MD, PhD, co-leaders (along with Barbara Burtness, MD, not pictured) of the Keystone in Head and Neck Cancer.
A Multifaceted Approach
At the Fox Chase Cancer Center, a multifaceted approach to molecular medicine is practiced. The Division of Molecular Pathology (DMP), within the Department of Pathology, exploits current state-of-the-art technology and information, as well as exploring research and development in the field of genomic technology that will become a part of the standard of care for all cancer patients within several years. The cornerstone of the current practice of molecular medicine is the Clinical Molecular Genetics Laboratory, a government-accredited clinical laboratory where tumor tissue specimens undergo tests designed to identify clinically-relevant molecular alterations that will determine the most effective course of treatment for a particular cancer patient.
In most cases, these molecular alterations are acquired, and tumor-specific; however, in some cases inherited genetic mutations are identified in blood specimens from patients indicating hereditary susceptibility to cancer. In these cases, individuals affected and relatives unaffected by cancer may be counseled and managed through the Department of Clinical Genetics, with cancer prevention being the ultimate goal. The DMP also includes a Biospecimen Repository Facility, which contains many thousands of tissue and blood specimens from cancer patients treated at Fox Chase. The biospecimens are used by scientists and clinicians throughout the Center, as well as other institutions, for research purposes. This robust and richly annotated repository is extraordinarily valuable in furthering translational research into the molecular basis of cancer.
The Future of Medicine
Fox Chase's Robert Young MD Pavilion provides state-of-the-art laboratory space and facilities to foster collaborative research.
The Institute for Personalized Medicine (IPM) represents the future of cancer medicine. In the IPM, the entire genome sequences of blood and/or tumor specimens may be determined, in a relatively short time and cost-effective manner. Within several years, it will be common practice for patients at Fox Chase to undergo complete genome sequencing in order to identify relevant molecular alterations that will guide treatment of cancer. Information regarding cancer risk will also be determined through genome sequencing of blood specimens.
Personalized medicine, also known as targeted therapy, involves treatment of a cancer based on specific molecular alterations that are "druggable," or susceptible to novel therapeutic agents that target only the altered cancer-specific molecule, rather than all dividing cells. The use of imatinib in the treatment of chronic myologenous leukemia containing a genetic aberration known as the Philadelphia chromosome is an strikingly effective example of personalized medicine.
For Information about cancer or