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New discoveries to tackle stomach cancer
Mar 3, 2006, 12:55, Reviewed by: Dr. Priya Saxena
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"We get insights not into individual genes but their networks as a whole system, the switches, which are turned on irrevocably, leading to the cancer,"
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By IANS,
A research team has come up with a molecular map and other discoveries to help develop better treatment for stomach cancer, which is common in Asians, researchers said Friday.
"The inroads can give doctors the means to fight the disease more effectively," said Professor Soo Khee Chee, director of the National Cancer Centre (NCC).
The team led by the NCC included experts from the University of Hong Kong, University of Tokyo and Australia's Peter MacCullum Cancer Centre. They examined more than 300 tissue samples from cancerous tumours and analysed 20 million interactions among different genes.
They uncovered key molecular changes that cause the cells to divide uncontrollably and change into intestinal tissue, often a precursor to cancer.
"We get insights not into individual genes but their networks as a whole system, the switches, which are turned on irrevocably, leading to the cancer," Patrick Tan, principal investigator at the NCC told The Strait Times.
Stomach cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer that kills six out of ten patients. According to doctors, early diagnosis is critical and by the time most sufferers show symptoms such as pain, weight loss and vomiting, it is too late. 
- Indo-Asian News Service
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