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Their discovery is published online in Nature Genetics . Bile Duct Cancer, or Cholangiocarcinoma, is a fatal cancer with apoor prognosis. Accounting for 10 to 25 per cent of all primaryliver cancers worldwide, bile duct cancer is a prevalent disease inSoutheast Asia, particularly in Northeast Thailand, which seesabout 20,000 new cases each year. The high incidence in Thailand isattributed to long-term consumption of raw fish infected with liverflukes -- food-borne parasites found in fish. Liver flukeinfections are widespread in Northeast Thailand, where they arethought to occur in over 6 million people. Once eaten, the flukesaccumulate in the bile ducts of the human host, causing constantinfection and eventually the onset of cancer. The research team was led by Bin Tean Teh, M.D., Ph.D., Directorand Principal Investigator of the NCCS-VARI Translational CancerResearch Laboratory. Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) and theNational Cancer Center, Singapore (NCCS) established the NCCS-VARITranslational Research Program at the National Cancer Center,Singapore in 2007. The program focuses on the biology behindvarying drug responses in Asian versus non-Asian patients withspecific types of cancer. The team also included Associate Professor Patrick Tan, AssociateProfessor Steve Rozen (both of Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School ofSingapore) and Professor Vajarabhongsa Bhudhisawasdi fromThailand's Khon Kaen University. The breakthrough came after twoyears of intensive research, which saw scientists from Singaporevisiting the villagers in northern Thailand, and Thai researcherscoming to Singapore to work in NCCS laboratories. Professor Teh said the study will pave the way for a betterunderstanding of the roles that newly identified genes play in thedevelopment of bile duct cancer. "This discovery adds depth to what we currently know aboutbile duct cancer," said Teh. "More important is that weare now aware of new genes and their effects on bile duct cancer,and we now need to further examine their biological aspects todetermine how they bring about the onset ofCholangiocarcinoma." Using state of the art DNA sequencing, the researchers analysedeight bile duct cancers and normal tissues from Thai patients, anddiscovered mutations in 187 genes. The team then selected 15 genesthat were frequently mutated for further analysis in an additional46 cases. Many of these genes, such as MLL3, ROBO2 and GNAS, havenot been previously implicated in bile duct cancers. "With this finding we now know much more about the molecularmechanisms of the disease and we can draw up additional measuresthat can be taken while we identify the most appropriate treatmentprotocols. We are talking about the potential to save many lives inThailand," said Professor Vajarabhongsa Bhudhisawasdi,Director of the Liver Fluke and Cholangiocarcinoma Research Center,Khon Kaen University of Thailand. "Also, this study shows thatwe can work closely with our counterparts in other countries andshare our expertise and experience to improve the lot for thepeople." The researchers also compared the bile duct cancers to otherrelated cancers of the liver and pancreas. Surprisingly, they foundthat the bile ducts cancers shared certain similarities withpancreatic cancer. "This research provides a strong direction for futurestudies," said Associate Professor Patrick Tan, faculty memberof the Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Programme at the Duke-NUS."Cholangiocarcinoma and Pancreatic Duct Adenocarcinoma appearto share more molecular similarities than earlier studies hadindicated, and suggest that there are common biological pathwaysbetween the two cancers. By studying these pathways, we can thenshed more light on how these tumours develop." Dr. Chutima Subimerb, a Thai scientist involved in the project,said she was pleased with the collaboration and to be able toparticipate in this health diplomacy project. "We are veryprivileged to be able to work alongside Prof Teh and the otherscientists from Singapore. By pooling our resources we were able tomake this discovery which will have very wide impact on the people,especially the poor people who have been eating the fish that theycatch from the ponds and rivers in the region. I believe this isonly a first step and we will see even more collaborations in timeto come between our two countries in the field of scientificresearch." The research was funded by the Singapore Ministry of Health'sNational Medical Research Council, Millennium Foundation, LeeFoundation, National Cancer Centre Research Fund, Duke-NUS GraduateMedical School Singapore, Cancer Science Institute Singapore,Research Team Strengthening Grant, National Genetic Engineering andBiotechnology Center and the National Science and TechnologyDevelopment Agency (Thailand). The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Metal Slitting Machine , Cable Tray Roll Forming Machine, and more. For more , please visit Purlin Forming Machine today!
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