WUSTL Genome Sequencing Service a Data Opportunity for Cancer Research?

Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) School of Medicine has just announced the launch of its Genomics and Pathology Services (GPS@WUSTL) that can run and analyze a patient's DNA sample for mutations in 28 genes associated with cancer.  The ability to test for these particular genes individually already exists; the novelty of GPS@WUSTL is being able to order the whole panel of tests at once, which is more efficient and less costly.  Additionally, WUSTL's bioinformatics division uses a data platform that offers more sensitive and accurate reports. 

While the benefit of this personalized medicine service to doctors and patients is clear and primary, does it also put Washington University in a position to build an important central database of genomic testing data for use in comparative analytics? Without compromising patient privacy, will GPS@WUSTL perhaps be able to compile anonymous statistics for the use of researchers seeking to understand the genetic biomarkers of various cancers?  Such a resource would be of considerable value to the kind of research that is only possible with access to a large sampling of test results.

A doctor's ability to read her patient's genomic profile is only as valuable as her knowledge of what that information might mean.  Researchers who study large numbers of genome records comparatively and thereby identify common markers provide the resources for that doctor to assess her individual patient's profile results.  Researchers need access to data to do their work, and increasingly that data comes from information sharing and database development.  The data is sourced from individual patient records that, as they are analyzed in the laboratory, are also added to a central electronic records database.  In this way the doctor and the researcher support each other with a vital exchange of information.

In this vein, GPS@WUSTL will also be initiating the translation of DNA sequencing results into meaningful information for physicians by automatically accessing relevant research studies and providing links to those studies along with the lab results.  In time, they will be able to offer the further service of sharing their database information with the very cancer researchers generating that meaningful knowledge, and with 28 genes tested at once, that data will be especially useful.

(Photo of Dr. Shashikant Kulkarni, GPS Medical Director, courtesy of WUSTL)

For examples of recent data-sharing collaborations in genomic research and their importance, see these previous blogs of ours:

Genome Sequencing Research Moving at Warp Speed --  What to Expect

Duke University Receives $25M in Research Funding for Epilepsy Related Genome Sequencing Study

7 Medical Schools Awarded $25M Funding by NIH for Genomics Research

On March 8, 2012, Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. will hold its 13th Annual St Louis BioResearch Product Faire on the Washington University campus, where geneticists and their life science research colleagues are actively invited to meet and network with laboratory equipment suppliers and lab service providers.  If you are a potential exhibitor, click below for show information and WUSTL funding stats:

Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. is a full-service event marketing and planning company producing on-campus life science research tradeshows nationwide for the 19 years now. We plan and promote each event to bring the best products and services to the best research campuses across the country. Life science researchers, purchasing agents, and lab managers are actively invited to attend to see the latest products and equipment and discuss their laboratory tool and service needs. See our nationwide show schedule for 2012.