Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Colorectal cancer is a common cancer affecting thousands of Canadians. Genetic factors contributing to the disease risk and outcome are not fully understood. Recently discovered genetic variations, which consist of variable numbers of deleted or duplicated DNA segments, are presumed to play roles in the development and progression of colorectal cancer. In this study we used a large­scale genetic data of 505 colorectal cancer patients. The genetic variations in DNA of each patient were identified by using genetic detection software. Additional analyses showed that some of these variations might affect genes' functions. A subgroup of the identified variations were also experimentally verified that increased our confidence in the results. Additionally, we are in the process of examining the relation of these variations with patient survival times. This is one of the first comprehensive studies identified these genetic variations in colorectal cancer patients. Our results have generated new scientific knowledge. In addition, once our current analyses identify the genetic variations that are linked to patient survival times, the resulted information may be valuable in the clinical management of future colorectal cancer patients.