A new, joint research pact between Illumina and the National Cancer Center Japan aims to shed light onto the clinical information and genomics of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a rare cancer. Together, the companies will use Illumina’s high-throughput DNA sequencing to gain a better understanding of this cancer and ultimately create treatments for it.
About the Pact
The research project is being looked at as a portion of a larger study titled Asian Multicenter Prospective Study of Circulating Tumor DNA Sequencing (A-TRAIN). A-TRAIN is an international study taking place throughout Asia that aims to gain better understandings of the genomic profiles of cancers common to the participating countries.
Looking specifically to nasopharyngeal carcinoma, blood samples will be taken and analyzed by 96 patients. In order to do so, the researchers will utilize Illumina’s technology: TruSight Oncology 500 ctDNA.
Looking Forward
The goal for this project is to develop new treatments for cancers that are common in Asia, such as endometrial, breast, ovarian, and cervical cancer. Hopefully, this research will lead to improved health outcomes for cancer patients throughout Asia.
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About Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a rare form of cancer that begins in the nasopharynx, which is the area at the back of the nose that connects to the throat. It causes symptoms such as hearing loss, blood in the saliva, nasal congestion, ringing in the ears, headaches, swollen lymph nodes, bloody discharge from the nose, sore throat, and frequent ear infections, although these effects may not appear until the cancer has advanced.
In terms of causes, medical professionals know that squamous cells in the nasopharynx become malignant, but they do not know why. They have also identified a number of risk factors, such as being male, a family history of this cancer, the Epstein-Barr virus, being between the ages between 30 and 50, being exposed to salt-cured foods at a young age, and being of northern African, Southeastern Asian, or Chinese descent.
Read more about this cancer here.
