Big Data Leads to Breakthroughs in Brain Cancer Research

Prof. Jiguang WANG (Division of Life Science/CBE) and Prof Jiang Tao from Beijing Tiantan hospital have announced their research break-through using big-data information to guide the treatment of patients of severe brain cancer.

In a world first, they have discovered a type of gene mutation as the major culprit behind the aggressive progression of a type of brain cancer called Secondary Glioblastoma (sGBM). This discovery has guided a new treatment that has shown signs of success in a three-month trial on sGBM patients.

“Those who took part in the research are chemo-resistant patients and have not responded to standard form of medication, so to see such a positive response from them is quite a success,” Prof. Wang said.

While most patients in the trial eventually die, he said more studies are needed to see if the drug can be used in conjunction with other drugs to have longer lasting results.

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