Don: Today on "A Moment of Science..."

 

Yaël: (DOOR-CLOSING) I'm here, Don! Sorry I'm late. I was driving a friend home from her chemotherapy treatment at the hospital.

 

D: Oh? How is she, Yaël?

 

Y: She's doing well, the chemo seems to be working and her tumor is shrinking.

 

D: That's great news! Y'know, I wonder why chemotherapy works so well for some people or cancers, but not as well for others.

 

Y: Scientists and doctors wonder the same thing, Don. In fact, researchers at MIT have been studying how certain DNA-damaging compounds work in different people.  They identified forty-eight genes that can predict how susceptible an individual is to the toxic compound known as MNNG.

 

     MNNG is similar to the toxic chemicals found in tobacco smoke and in common  chemotherapy agents. MNNG can kill cells by causing irreparable damage to the cell's DNA. That's a good thing if the cell is a cancer cell.

 

     But the researchers found big differences in how susceptible different people's cells are to damage by MNNG. By measuring the response of every single gene in the cells of different healthy people, the team discovered that they could use forty-eight specific genes to accurately predict how each individual's cells would react to MNNG.

 

D: Wow. Do they think this could allow doctors to predict if someone will respond well  to chemo by looking at their genes?

 

Y: That's the hope. This study was specific for MNNG, but the researchers are now  using similar techniques to see if they can also predict individuals' responses to other common toxic agents used in cancer treatments. Maybe one day doctors will be able to custom-tailor treatments that best suit each individual patient.