Machines Like Us

Cancer is a disease of genes gone awry, but new insights into the "cancer genome" could point the way to effective treatments, an international team of researchers reports.

Scientists taking part in the Cancer Genome Project say they've identified more than 100 mutated genes that help drive 210 different cancer types. Each mutation could prove a promising new target for drug research, the scientists say.

"Looking at this set of genes may actually provide clues as to what is causing cancer and to also provide opportunities to think about developing therapeutic strategies against it," said the project's co-leader, Andrew Futreal of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, England. He and team co-leader Michael Stratton, also of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, spoke to reporters at a special press conference Tuesday on the findings. The findings were expected to be published in the March 8 issue of the journal Nature.

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