Two studies, one of leukemia and the other of endometrial tumors, show the usefulness of genomics studies in finding unsuspected classifications, possibly useful for treating these cancers.

One study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, examined 200 cases of acute myeloid leukemia. Genomic studies allowed the researchers to discern nine distinct categories, revealing “many potentially important biologic relationships.” For instance, certain mutations were associated with distinct patterns of RNA activity. The authors point out that the significance of such findings “is not yet clear.”

Another study, in Nature, of some 375 endometrial cancers found four distinct classes of the disease, as opposed to the two commonly used to stage treatment. In Journal Watch Oncology and Hematology, Virginia Kaklamani observes that breast cancer was the first to use molecular subtypes to guide treatment. The Nature study, she writes, is “a huge step toward applying this technique in other malignancies.”

Source:NEJM