鈥淒EDICATED, passionate about science, loves numbers and solving life鈥檚 mysteries 鈥� seeks a rush of excitement.鈥� No, New 杏吧原创 isn鈥檛 running a lonely hearts column. But if we were, an ad like this might catch the attention of admirers from an unexpected quarter. That鈥檚 because it mentions attributes that are highly sought after by cancer researchers hoping to find someone who wants a rewarding career in their field.
These aren鈥檛 the only useful traits for uncovering cancer鈥檚 secrets. 鈥淵ou need to have strong personal motivation 鈥� you don鈥檛 do it for the money,鈥� says microbiologist . She runs a lab at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, one of 65 labs designated as 鈥渃omprehensive cancer centres鈥� by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the US. 鈥淐ancer is a really interesting and important problem. It鈥檚 something worth being passionate about.鈥�
Salama鈥檚 passion lies in picking apart the genes of a gut-dwelling bacterium called Helicobacter pylori. The microbe causes chronic inflammation in the stomach that can lead to ulcers, and in the 1990s it was linked to stomach cancer 鈥� the second most deadly cancer after lung cancer. Salama is studying H. pylori鈥榮 genes to decipher the biochemical chatter between the bacterium and its host. She hopes this will explain how gastric cancer develops and lead to better diagnostic techniques and drug treatments.
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Over in the UK, new drugs are Gert Attard鈥檚 concern. A physician by training, he opted to pursue a career in cancer research after his grandfather died of colon cancer. He now works at the in Sutton, evaluating new ways to treat prostate cancer. When not in the lab, Attard teaches and works at , a specialist cancer hospital nearby. 鈥淏ig advances desperately need to be made, and are being made, so it鈥檚 a very exciting period to be doing cancer research,鈥� Attard says. 鈥淲e are reaping the rewards of 40 years of good research, with true benefits being seen for patients after so many years of frustration.鈥�
One promising drug Attard鈥檚 lab is working on is abiraterone, a treatment for prostate cancer that works by blocking the production of testosterone. Early clinical trials suggest it could be used to treat up to 80 per cent of patients with the most aggressive and drug-resistant form of the disease.
But success in this field doesn鈥檛 come easily, Attard says. 鈥淵ou have to have an ability to cope with disappointment because for every successful lab result there are a hundred failures.鈥� Coping with the disappointment comes from dogged persistence and belief in your ideas, he says, and the reward when you get it right makes it all worthwhile. 鈥淓xpect amazing highs when results go well.鈥�
Teaming up
There is a growing emphasis on collaboration with researchers from other fields, Salama says. 鈥淏eing able to work with a team where people have different areas of expertise and being able to communicate across those groups is increasingly important,鈥� she says, adding that this will improve the quality of research.
It was an interest in interdisciplinary science that landed of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City her dream job. Armed with enthusiasm and a background in evolutionary biology and mathematics, she hopes to make a difference in the fight against cancer by leading one of the 12 dotted around the US.
The centres were launched last year by the NCI, which awarded substantial grants to leading US cancer institutes to initiate collaborations involving the physical sciences and oncology. The idea is to expand our knowledge of how physical laws govern the emergence and behaviour of cancer.
鈥淯sing this convergence of different fields to come up with all sorts of new ways of looking at cancer is really interesting 鈥� and it鈥檚 a lot of fun too,鈥� says Michor. Under the NCI initiative, her lab is receiving an $11 million grant over five years to work out the evolutionary dynamics of cancer. Since mutations play a role both in cancer and in evolution, and since evolution can be modelled mathematically, Michor鈥檚 approach could yield some fascinating results.
Michor鈥檚 lab is developing a number of mathematical models for different cancers, including one to understand how lung cancer cells mutate to become resistant to drugs, and another to determine the sequence of mutations that can give rise to a brain tumour. By collaborating with other labs, Michor can translate her predictive models into animal and cell line models and can test them by genetically engineering those systems.
Making it personal
Mathematical modelling is just one approach to understanding how the development of each type of cancer is unique to individuals. If we can discover the pattern of genetic mutation in cancers, then personalised treatments will become possible. Leading the effort are ambitious projects such as the NCI鈥檚 , which uses genome analysis techniques to catalogue these mutations.
The (CGP) at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, UK, has also made significant breakthroughs. In December last year, it reported the first genetic sequences of lung and skin cancer cells, revealing every mutation these cells had acquired over their lifetime. By comparing the genetic make-up of diseased and healthy cells in individuals, the project was able to identify the mutations that had caused cells to turn cancerous.
鈥淚f you have the genomes of individual patients, simple blood tests could be developed to detect cancer-specific gene mutations, because cancer cells leak DNA into the blood,鈥� says Mike Stratton, a co-leader of the CGP. This could point the way to suitable personalised treatments. Sequencing an entire genome is still very expensive, but Stratton hopes that advances in technology could soon make it an everyday diagnostic tool.
Even so, current technology already allows even small labs to explore the expression of tens of thousands of genes in a single experiment, whereas 10 years ago working on a single gene at a time was the norm. This means experiments now churn out vast quantities of data, so programming skills and an analytical bent are also highly desirable skills.
聯Experiments churn out vast amounts of data, so programming skills and an analytical bent are desirable聰
鈥淲ithin five years what we will know about the genetic processes which underlie all cancers will be transformed,鈥� predicts Stratton. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an extraordinarily exciting time to be entering cancer research.鈥�
Janet Shipley Case study
works on molecular cytogenetics at the Institute of Cancer Research in Sutton, UK. She studies how proteins are expressed in tumours with a view to discovering genetic markers for cancer and potential therapeutic targets.
How did you get involved in cancer research?
I鈥檝e always been interested in biology and had a deep fascination for trying to understand why we are the way we are. There is much to discover, especially why it goes wrong in diseases like cancer.
What鈥檚 the best motivation someone in your field can have?
The almost obsessive pursuit of trying to understand and discover new things. This, combined with the ultimate objective of helping people with cancer, provides me with powerful motivation.
How has the field changed in recent years?
The map of the human genome and an understanding of the role of gene products has provided a new framework for research. There has been a massive increase in the available information that has to be factored into each study, which requires computational skills and the ability to take a more collaborative approach.
What advice would you give an up-and-coming researcher?
Think carefully 鈥� you have to be highly committed and not afraid to work extremely hard. The old adage of 99 per cent perspiration and 1 per cent inspiration is certainly true for this line of work.