Largest Cancer Gene Database Made Public

National Cancer Institute scientists have released the largest-ever database of cancer-related genetic variations, providing researchers the most comprehensive way so far to figure out how to target treatments for the disease.

Open access worldwide to the new database, based on genome studies, is expected to help researchers accelerate development of new drugs and better match patients with therapies, NCI said in a statement on Monday.

"Most anti-cancer drugs that are used today are used based on their empirical activity," Dr. Yves Pommier, chief of the NCI's Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, said in an interview. "For most of them, we know there is a target, but they have not been connected with any genomics."