Abstract 377: International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC)
Authors: Jennings Jennifer L. , Stein Lincoln D. , Calvo Fabien 
Published: July 2017

The International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) was established to bring together researchers from around the globe to comprehensively analyze the genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic changes in 50 different tumor types or subtypes that are of clinical and societal importance across the globe (International network of cancer genome projects. Nature 464, 993-998 (15 April 2010)). As of November 2016, the ICGC has received commitments from researchers and funding organizations in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America for 103 project teams in 17 jurisdictions to study more than 25,000 tumor genomes. Processed data is available via the Data Coordination Centre (http://dcc.icgc.org) based at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and is updated semi-annually. The August 2016 release (Version 22) in total comprises data from more than 16,000 cancer donors spanning 70 projects and 21 tumor sites. The Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) project of the ICGC and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) is coordinating analysis of more than 2,600 cancer genomes, with the extensive use of cloud computing. Because of the very large size of the pan-cancer dataset, with 5,000 whole genome sequences, PCAWG is using a distributed compute cloud environment (generated by computing centres in the USA, Europe and Asia) that meets the project’s technical requirements and the bioethical framework of ICGC and its member projects. Each genome is being characterized through a suite of standardized algorithms, including alignment to the reference genome, uniform quality assessment, and the calling of multiple classes of somatic mutations. Scientists participating in the research projects of PCAWG are addressing a series of fundamental questions about cancer biology and evolution based on these data. The first phase of ICGC, which is slated for completion in 2018, has focused on developing extensive catalogs of tumor genomic information. The proposed second phase, ICGCmed, will link genomics to clinical information and health, including lifestyle, patient history, response to therapies, and underlying causes of disease, for a broad spectrum of cancers, including preneoplastic lesions, early cancers and metastases. The goal will be to accelerate the movement of genomic information into the clinic to guide prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and prognosis, and provide the information needed to match a patient’s disease to the most effective combinations of therapy. The ICGC develops policies and quality control criteria to help harmonize the work of member projects located in different jurisdictions. Data produced by ICGC projects are made rapidly and freely available to qualified researchers around the world via the data cloud and through the ICGC Data Coordination Center at (http://dcc.icgc.org). More information can be found on www.icgc.org.

Citation Format: Jennifer L. Jennings, Lincoln D. Stein, Fabien Calvo. International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 377. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-377