Immunotherapy drugs could help some breast cancer patients based on the genetic changes in their tumours, researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their collaborators find. Published today (13 September 2017) in Cancer Research, scientists identify particular genetic changes in a DNA repair mechanism in breast cancer.

One of the tests used to diagnose type 2 diabetes and monitor blood sugar control is influenced by 60 genetic variants, an international team of scientists, including those from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, has found. One genetic variant in particular, found only in African Americans, significantly reduces the accuracy of the HbA1c blood test used to diagnose and monitor the condition. This means around 650,000 African Americans in the US could have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes if tested with the HbA1c test alone.

This unique collaboration will establish an international scientific network to generate more effective combination therapies against this deadly cancer, which has so far proved intransigent to any treatment. WINDOW will test many drug combinations to target different cells within each individual patient's tumour.

The report, written by Life Science’s Champion Professor Sir John Bell, provides recommendations to government on the long-term success of the life sciences sector. Associate Director Julia Wilson gives Sanger's response.

In the new study, scientists conducted a very deep, detailed study of the proteins in bowel cancer to investigate whether proteins play a role in predicting the effect of different drugs against the cancer. The researchers analysed 9,000 proteins for each of 50 bowel cancer cell lines.

Early detection of breast cancer is key, as catching and treating the cancer before it spreads is now a realistic goal following a new study. Scientists from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their collaborators found that breast cancer cells that spread to other parts of the body break off and leave the primary tumour later than previously thought. The results also open the door to predicting which drugs will work against breast cancer that has already spread.

The bacteria behind a nationwide epidemic of a mysterious respiratory disease in Icelandic ponies has been identified by scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their collaborators. The team tracked the bug back to its source: a water treadmill used by horses in rehabilitation.

In the most recent whole-genome study of ancient remains from the Near East, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute scientists and their collaborators sequenced the entire genomes of 4,000-year-old Canaanite individuals who inhabited the region during the Bronze Age, and compared these to other ancient and present-day populations. The results, published today (27 July) in the American Journal of Human Genetics suggest that present-day Lebanese are direct descendants of the ancient Canaanites.

The NIHR funding will enable DNA sequencing and genomic surveillance of resistant bacteria through National laboratories in the Philippines, India, Nigeria and Colombia.