The research goal of the Genetics Division is elucidation of the molecular basis for cell transformation and carcinogenesis and the application of basic information to the development of new strategies for cancer diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
Gene amplification is a form of genomic instability, a hallmark of cancer cells.
A comprehensive cloning effort by the Division is about to change the situation. A previous study in the Division showed that a gene therapy targeted to K-RAS mutation can induce apoptosis and growth suppression of the pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and in vivo . A part of the key signaling machinery of the pancreatic cancer is being unveiled by the differential display and microarray analyses on the cells transduced with the antisense K-RAS adenoviral vectors. Translational research has been actively promoted in the Division to introduce the genetic or genomic medicine in cancer clinics. The Division is currently providing a genetic diagnosis service for the rare but established hereditary cancers such as familial adenomatous polyposis, based on the proper genetic counseling.