ICGC ARGO extends its warmest congratulations to the Papillary Thyroid Cancer Project (PTC-SA) for achieving a significant milestone, as the first program to successfully submit all required data within their ambitious project. Their dedication and hard work has resulted in the collation of whole exome and transcriptomic data from 239 donors, gathered across 11 clinical modules encompassing 70 essential data fields.
The primary goal of PTC-SA, lead by Professor Khawla S. Al-Kuraya, is to comprehensively catalogue genomic expression and somatic mutations in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), to better understand the molecular drivers responsible for thyroid carcinogenesis. While the prognosis of PTC is generally favourable, approximately 25% of patients present with tumours with uncharacterised genomic markers that could be facilitating disease. Furthermore, this disease disproportionally affects women in Saudi Arabia, accounting for 11.5% of female malignant neoplasms.
Through extensive profiling of PTC tumours, the PTC-SA team aim to reveal novel drivers associated with pathogenesis, in order to tailor therapies to patients and improve clinical efficacy. Additionally, they hope to improve prognostic markers for PTC in the future, thereby paving the way for improved patient stratification and patient outcomes.
Congratulations to everyone involved in the project!
