ICGA Foundation is focused on deciphering the genomic landscape of cancers that are particularly prevalent in India.

The Indian Cancer Genome Atlas (ICGA) Foundation on Sunday showcased a comprehensive database for India-specific cancer genomics, to help researchers across the world in providing tailored cancer treatments for patients.

While speaking to The Indian Express, Dr Anand Deshpande, non-executive director and founder member of ICGA Foundation, said, “This is a critical phase in our journey. We have successfully built a comprehensive data platform that enables us to analyse genomic, proteomic and clinical data and encourage the research community to utilise the data for their studies”.

Data of these 50 breast cancer patients that have been fully genome sequenced will now be moved to cBioPortal, a web-based platform that allows users to analyse cancer genomic data sets. “We now have data from 50 breast cancer patients and want to expand to 500 in a year. By building an extensive genomic database, we can move towards personalised cancer treatments, improve survival rates, and help reduce the overall burden of cancer care in India,” Dr Deshpande, who is also the founder chairman and managing director of Pune-based Persistent Systems, said at the sidelines of the foundation’s fifth annual meeting.

He added the initiative has the potential to improve treatment outcomes by enabling more informed decisions, predicting how patients will respond to specific therapies, and guiding the development of new, targeted treatments.

Increasing cancer burden and need for genomic map

About one in five people develop cancer in their lifetime, and approximately one in nine men and one in 12 women die from the disease according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Cancers in India, however, may exhibit different patterns compared to those in Western countries. Recognising this, the ICGA Foundation is focused on deciphering the genomic landscape of cancers that are particularly prevalent in India, such as breast, lung, gall bladder, ovarian, prostate, and childhood leukaemia cancers.

“The aim is to create a comprehensive map of the genomic landscape of cancers prevalent in India. The effort is to collect, catalogue, and analyse cancer samples from diverse Indian populations to identify patterns, mutations, and biomarkers unique to our demographic,” Dr Deshpande said.

“With the increasing burden of cancer and existing knowledge gap in India, a need was felt for a multi-disciplinary translational cancer research hub that can bring clinicians, researchers, and patients on a common platform,” Dr C B Koppiker, noted breast cancer surgeon and one of the founder members, told The Indian Express.

Talking of the origin of the Indian Cancer Genome Atlas, Dr Koppiker recalled that their organisation Prashanti Cancer Care Mission (PCCM) collaborated with the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER-Pune) to set up a centre for translational research. “We received CSR funding from Bajaj Auto Ltd and that helped set up a tissue and data biobank for a cohort of breast cancer patients treated at PCCM,” he added.

Soon experts like Prof Sunil Badve, Prof L S Shashidhara, and Dr Anand Deshpande came together to set up the Cancer Atlas and help understand different cancer profiles and identify targeted therapies.

Key challenges

Over the years, ICGA Foundation has built partnerships with over 20 hospitals and research institutions across India, including oncology centres, academic institutions, and government bodies.

“Building collaboration between clinicians and researchers requires continuous dialogue and trust-building. Hospitals must feel confident in sharing de-identified patient data, while researchers must work within clinical constraints. Standardising data collection, as well as ensuring uniform sample processing and analysis across various centres, adds another layer of complexity,” Dr Deshpande pointed out.

Translating genomic research into clinical practice is not always straightforward, the expert said and pointed out that bridging the gap between scientific discoveries and their real-world applications requires overcoming both technological and regulatory challenges.

“It demands constant communication and collaboration between researchers and clinicians. Active participation from all stakeholders is essential, and ICGA is committed to facilitating this crucial dialogue,” Dr Deshpande said.

“Over time, our findings will contribute to better diagnostic tools, more targeted treatment regimens, and potentially even preventive strategies for cancer in India. However, this is a philanthropic initiative and the costs of sequencing each sample apart from converting it to data and hosting it are significant. For 500 samples, we need to raise a substantial amount of money in the next few months,” Dr Deshpande appealed.

Source: indianexpress