Chromosomal Instability Score May Predict Response to Cancer Treatment

Resarch team led by researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has identified a new type of biomarker that may help predict prognosis and response to chemotherapy and radiation therapy for several types of cancer. The biomarker is a score based on the expression levels of a set of genes involved in partitioning chromosomes during cell division. This score, the researchers found, could identify tumors that would likely not respond to certain treatments and those that would be sensitive. The score could also predict patients’ outcomes with or without treatment. The study was published August 31 in Nature Communications.(Related news link)