Drugs that target cancer without harming healthy could be a reality in 20 years
A landmark project to map 100,000 complete DNA code sequences is set to transform treatment of cancer and rare diseases, meaning chemotherapy could be obsolete within a generation, The Daily Mail reported.
David Cameron said it will make Britain the world leader in genetic research as he announced a package of deals worth £300million to carry out the work, expected to be completed by 2017.
Over the next four years, about 75,000 patients with cancer and rare diseases, plus their close relatives, will have their whole genetic codes, or genomes, sequenced. Cancer patients will have the DNA of both healthy and tumour cells mapped, making up the 100,000 total.
Scientists expect the project to be pivotal to the development of personalised treatments based on genetics, with the potential to revolutionise medicine. The researchers are looking for tiny changes in the genetic code that can trigger disease or affect its progress.