Børresen-Dale (left) and Langerød

In two back-to-back reports published online on 17 May in Cell (journal impact factor 32.4) , researchers have sequenced the genomes of 21 breast cancers and analysed the mutations that emerged during the tumours‟ development.

Led by researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, the team created a catalogue of all the mutations in the genomes of the 21 cancer genomes and identified the mutational processes that lead to breast cancer. They found that these mutations accumulate in breast cells over many years, initially rather slowly, but picking up more and more momentum as the genetic damage builds up.

Anita Langerød and Anne-Lise Børresen-Dale (photo) from the Department of Genetics at the Institute for Cancer Research have made strong contributions to this work.

This research project - entitled "Actionable Targets in Cancer Metastasis - from Bed to Bench to Byte to Bedside" - and focusing on intratumoral heterogeneity and personal-adapted treatment of metastatic melanoma, breast-and colorectal carcinoma - has recently been granted with 22.8 mill NOK from the Norwegian Research Council.

The granted project is based in an integrated collaboration between basic research- and clinical departments located either at Oslo University Hospital (OUS) or Akershus University Hospital (Ahus) and is funded for four years. Principle Investigators are Gunhild M. Mælandsmo from Department of Tumor Biology and Anne-Lise Børresen-Dale from the Department of Genetics, both at Institute for Cancer Research, OUS.

The 2012 Global Academic Programs conference is held at Holmenkollen Park Hotel in Oslo from May 14-16. The GAP Annual Conference provides a forum for faculty from MD Anderson and their sister institutions to develop collaborations and exchange research results and ideas. The event is held at MD Anderson in odd years and is hosted by a Sister Institution in even years.

Starting in 2012, the GAP Annual Conference will travel every other year to a Sister Institution, rotating around different regions of the globe. The first external conference is hosted by the Norwegian Cancer Consortium (NCC), which includes Stavanger University Hospital, The Norwegian Radium Hospital at OUS, and the National Cancer Registry of Norway.

All plenary lectures and workshops will be filmed and made available on http://webtv.oncolex.no/ after the conference.

A study by PhD student Ane Hansen Kjenseth (photo) and colleagues at Department of Cancer Prevention, Institute for Cancer Research and Centre for Cancer Biomedicine, has identified a novel mechanism for regulation of intercellular communication. The article was published in the May 4 issue of Journal of Biological Chemistry, and was featured on the cover of the journal.

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