Cancer Genomics

Program Driver

Dr. Maureen O’ Connor, Biotechnology Research Institute, Montreal

Program Summary

The goal of the Cancer Genomics Program is to identify tumor markers in cancer cells; to evaluate their utility as targets for the development of drugs and diagnostics; and to screen for small molecule chemical probes that can be used to further validate targets and serve as leads for the potential development of new drug treatments.

The Cancer Genomics Program is concentrating on brain, lung and breast cancers and is using a broad range of genomics and proteomics technologies for defining structures of targets and probe-target complexes. Techniques for diagnostics and tumor classification in this program include:

• Microarrays – which are used for determining differential gene expression between less aggressive and more aggressive tumor cells.
• 2-Dimension Gels and Mass Spectrometry – which are used for identifying differentially-expressed proteins.
• Yeast Two-Hybrid and Surface Plasmon Resonance techniques for identifying proteins that interact with tumor targets, as well as measuring affinities and kinetics.
• Single-chain Antibody/Phage Display for identifying tumor-specific antigens on cancer cell membranes.
• Far Infrared Florescence, Magnetic Resonance Imaging for monitoring tumor progression and marker expression in live animals.

Other techniques such as x-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, and molecular modeling are being used to define the structure of tumor targets and tumor inhibitor target complexes.

Interview with Dr. Maureen O’Connor-McCourt

Cancer is a widespread genetic disease, in which errors or mutations in a single cell lead to rapid and uncontrolled cell division, which in turn leads to the growth of one or several tumours – often with fatal effects. It has been estimated that in 2002, there were 136,900 new cases of cancer in Canada and 66,200 deaths from cancer. Complete Interview

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