SINGAPORE: Scientists at A*STARs Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) and the Bioinformatics Institute (BII) have found new clues that could lead to the early detection and more personalised treatment of ovarian cancer. IMB scientists have successfully identified a biomarker of ovarian stem cells, which may allow for earlier detection of ovarian cancer and thus allow treatment at an early stage of the illness, A*STAR announced on Friday (Aug 8). The illness is one of the three predominant cancers that affect women, along with breast and womb cancer. Of the three, ovarian cancer is of the greatest concern as it is usually diagnosed only at an advanced stage due to the absence of clear early warning symptoms unique to the illness, the agency said. Successful treatment is difficult at this late stage, resulting in high mortality rates. Ovarian cancer has increased in prevalence in Singapore as well as other developed countries recently, and is now the fifth most common cancer in Singapore among women, with about 280 cases diagnosed annually and 90 deaths per year, according to a Singapore Cancer Registry study. KEY BIOMARKER LOCATED The IMB team has identified a molecule, known as Lgr5, on a subset of cells in … Continue reading →

[5] 9083 genes and their mutational patterns were examined from the retrospective data of 334 HG-SOC tumor samples provided by The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network for study by the research and clinical community ________________________________________________________________ Image attached: Figure 1. Mouse ovary isencapsulated by asingle layer ofcellscalled ovary surface epithelium (indicated by black arrows). These cellsare long believed tobe thecancer cell of origin of ovarian cancer in humans. Annex B findings at A*STARs bioinformatics institute hold potential for personalised treatment of major type ovarian cancer Scientists at A*STARs Bioinformatics Institute have identified genes whose mutation status could be used for prognosis and development of personalized treatment for high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HG-SOC), a major type of ovarian cancer. Besides identification of CHEK2 as a biomarker for poor prognosis, the team of scientists also identified a prognostic signature comprising 21 genes that could be used to stratify patients diagnosed with HG-SOC into subgroups with high- or low- risk of mortality within five years of diagnosis. Patients identified as high-risk had a five-year survival rate of 6%, and appeared to be twice as likely to exhibit resistance to therapy in contrast to those in the low-risk group. Besides determining the effectiveness of treatments, … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 7-Aug-2014 Contact: Robert Redmond rredmond@cshl.edu 516-422-4101 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Informatics can vastly assist progress in research and development in cell and molecular biology and biomedicine. However, many investigators are either unaware of the ways in which informatics can improve their research or find it inaccessible due to a feeling of "informatics anxiety." This sense of apprehension results from improper communication of the principles behind these approaches and of the value of the many tools available. In fact, many researchers are inherently distrustful of these tools. A more complete understanding of bioinformatics offered in A Bioinformatics Guide for Molecular Biologists will allow the reader to become comfortable with these techniques, encouraging their usethus helping to make sense of the vast accumulation of data. To make these concepts more accessible, the editors approach the field of bioinformatics from the viewpoint of a molecular biologist, (1) arming the biologist with a basic understanding of the fundamental concepts in the field, (2) presenting approaches for using the tools from the standpoint of the data for which they are created, and (3) showing how the field of informatics is quickly adapting to the advancements in biology and biomedical technologies. All concepts … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 7-Aug-2014 Contact: Vanessa Loh vanessa_loh@a-star.edu.sg 656-826-6395 Biomedical Sciences Institutes (BMSI) Scientists at A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) and the Bioinformatics Institute (BII) have found new clues to early detection and personalised treatment of ovarian cancer, currently one of the most difficult cancers to diagnose early due to the lack of symptoms that are unique to the illness. There are three predominant cancers that affect women breast, ovarian and womb cancer. Of the three, ovarian cancer is of the greatest concern as it is usually diagnosed only at an advanced stage due to the absence of clear early warning symptoms. Successful treatment is difficult at this late stage, resulting in high mortality rates. Ovarian cancer has increased in prevalence in Singapore as well as other developed countries recently. It is now the fifth most common cancer in Singapore amongst women, with about 280 cases diagnosed annually and 90 deaths per year . Identifying Ovarian Cancer Earlier IMB scientists have successfully identified a biomarker of ovarian stem cells, which may allow for earlier detection of ovarian cancer and thus allow treatment at an early stage of the illness. The team has identified a molecule, known as Lgr5, on … Continue reading →