What are the main challenges faced by TARGET?
A major challenge for cancer research, especially for the molecular characterizations of cancer-associated changes, is the complexity of the group of diseases we call cancer. Different cancer types originate from a wide range of genetic mutations and molecular mechanisms. This means that even two patients who receive the same diagnosis are likely to have distinct causes of their disease at the level of DNA. Specifically, different genetic changes might be responsible for the development of the same cancer. This is why one patient might respond well to a specific treatment and the other might not. This heterogeneity, or variation, between tumors means that scientists need to compare many individual tumors with the same diagnosis in order to be able to make conclusions. Despite the prevalence of cancer in our society, finding a sufficient number of tumor samples to perform studies of this magnitude is a significant challenge for this project and others of its kind. Learn more about what
