For the first time, scientists have completed a detailed study of many of the proteins in bowel cancer cells. Scientists from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute investigated the role proteins play in predicting how common mutations affect proteins in the cancer cells and also whether such proteins are important in predicting cancer’s response to treatment.

The results, published today (29 August) in Cell Reports give scientists a better picture of the cellular processes behind bowel cancer and could enable researchers to predict which drugs would be effective in treating different bowel cancer patients.

“This study is the first detailed characterization of colorectal cancer cell lines. It is important to include the proteome in cancer research because proteins are the building blocks of life, and networks of proteins working together are known to drive fundamental processes in cancer.

Read the source article at The Institute of Cancer Research, London