Identification_of_genes_involved_in_tumour_resistance

In the UK, four in ten people will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime, with an individual's relative risk depending on many factors, including age, lifestyle and genetic make-up. Much research has gone into identifying the genes that are mutated in tumourigenesis with the over-whelming majority of genetically-modified mice in cancer research showing accelerated tumourigenesis or recapitulating key aspects of the tumourigenic process. Yet if six out of ten people will not develop some form of cancer during their lifetime, together with the fact that some cancer patients experience spontaneous regression/remission, it suggests there are ways of 'resisting' cancer. Indeed, there are spontaneously-arising mouse mutants that show some form of 'resistance' to tumour formation. Identification of the genes involved in this resistance is a novel aspect of cancer research that is important in terms of providing both chemopreventative and therapeutic options. In this project we plan to sequence 3 mouse lines that show 'resistance' to tumour formation.