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- Posted Wednesday September 10, 2014
TGen and Dell provide critical tools for child-cancer research to National Cancer Institute
Dell Genomic Data Analysis Platform provides computational power needed to speed up development of personalized treatment options
PHOENIX, Ariz. - Sept. 10, 2014 - Dell, Terascala and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) are installing state-of-the-art computing and programing specialized for human genome investigations at the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
As part of a formal collaboration, Dell is providing the Dell
Genomic Data Analysis Platform, designed to deliver fast analysis
of the billions of data points required when sequencing, or
decoding, aspects of the human DNA and other genomic data.
TGen is providing NCI with high performance computing and
bioinformatics support, as well as specialized software and tools
developed over the last three years as TGen and Dell have partnered
in support of pediatric cancer research programs globally,
including a groundbreaking personalized medicine trial for
pediatric cancer conducted by the Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma
Translational Research Consortium (NMTRC).
NCI is providing TGen with access to more than 800 sequenced
child-cancer genomes, which will be used in TGen's ongoing
pediatric cancer research.
"This is an enormous opportunity for the government to work with
top private and research organizations to share information and
expertise that will help guide physicians and medical benefit for
children around the world. A system like this is critical in
expediting patient care," said James Lowey, TGen's Vice President
of Technology.
The mission of the Oncogenomics Section at the NCI is to harness
the power of high throughput genomic and proteomic methods to
improve the outcome of children with high-risk metastatic,
refractory and recurrent cancers.
The new system at NCI will be used for four purposes:
1. House genomics data of well over 800
pediatric cancers, in a user friendly database.
2. RNAseq and immunohistochemistry database for
the Stand Up to Cancer Pediatric Dream team.
3. Computational server for a precision therapy
trial to be conducted with the Children's Oncology Group.
4. Computational server for a precision therapy
trial to be conducted with the Center for Cancer Research,
NCI.
The research goals are to integrate the data, decipher the biology
of these cancers and to identify and validate biomarkers and novel
therapeutic targets and to rapidly translate findings to the
clinic. This new system will host the largest collection of
clinically annotated pediatric cancer genomic data ever to be
released to the scientific community. Not only will this system
enable state-of-the-art precision therapy trials for children and
adults with lethal cancers, but also provide clinically annotated
high-resolution genomics data for basic science research.
"With the advent of faster, low-cost genome sequencing technology,
researchers now have a critical gateway to understanding the
underlying molecular pathways for diseases. And for some diseases,
every hour closer to discovery and result can mean the difference
between life and death," said Walker Stemple, Dell's High
Performance Computing Product Manager.
Terascala technology is present in several key areas of the new
Dell computer cluster: TeraOS improves the reliability, ease of
use, and performance of the Lustre storage in the solution;
Terascala gateways enable a direct interface for the genome
sequencers to the Lustre storage; and Terascala Support delivers
optimized technical support across the entire storage
appliance.
"We are very excited to be a contributor to this significant HPC
advancement at the NCI," said Steve Butler, CEO of Terascala. "The
result is a much faster and more efficient workflow for NCI
researchers. Our hope and belief is that NCI researchers will be
able to accelerate their work resulting in a faster timeline in
breakthroughs in the battle against cancer."
When cancer has spread beyond the site of origin it becomes hard
to cure. In addition, children with relapsed or refractory cancers
have about a 20 percent chance of survival. Neuroblastoma, a rare
cancer that strikes one in 100,000 children annually usually before
the age of 5, is so deadly that it is responsible for one in seven
pediatric cancer deaths. The cancer comes from the
sympathetic nervous system, which controls heart rate, blood
pressure and digestion, with aggressive tumors that are unique to
each child.
To overcome these challenges, parents and physicians and
scientists from the Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma Translational
Research Consortium (NMTRC; https://nmtrc.org)
and TGen have teamed to launch a groundbreaking personalized
medicine clinical trial investigation for pediatric cancer. The
trial is based on research from a group of collaborating
investigators who are developing a personalized medicine process
that is intended to permit near "real time" processing of
information on patient tumors and prediction of best drugs for a
specific patient.
This process generates more than 200 billion
measurements per patient that must be analyzed, shared and
stored.The computation and analysis of this information can
take weeks, even months, to process. The Dell solution and TGen
software decreased RNA-Seq data analysis time from 7 days to 4
hours.
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About Dell
Dell Inc. listens to customers and delivers innovative technology
and services that give them the power to do more. As one of the
leading providers of end-to-end IT solutions for healthcare
worldwide, Dell helps healthcare organizations to simplify
administration; coordinate and manage patient care; transition from
episodic care to prevention and wellness management; and ultimately
to deliver personalized medicine. As part of the company's
commitment to put technology and expertise to work where it can do
the most good for people and the planet, Dell has been working with
TGen since 2011 to accelerate pediatric cancer treatment. Learn
more at www.dell.com/childrenscancercare
or follow @DellHealth on Twitter.
About TGen
Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix,
Arizona-based non-profit organization dedicated to conducting
groundbreaking research with life changing results. TGen is focused
on helping patients with cancer, neurological disorders and
diabetes, through cutting edge translational research (the process
of rapidly moving research towards patient benefit). TGen
physicians and scientists work to unravel the genetic components of
both common and rare complex diseases in adults and children.
Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical
communities literally worldwide, TGen makes a substantial
contribution to help our patients through efficiency and
effectiveness of the translational process. For more information,
visit:www.tgen.org.
Press Contact:
Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
[email protected]
About Dr. Javed Khan's laboratory group at
NCI
Dr. Khan's laboratory group is one of the largest on the NIH
campus applying Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) strategies to
investigate cancers. He has leadership roles in national efforts
including the Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate
Effective Treatments (TARGET) program, as well as the Stand up to
Cancer (SU2C) St. Baldrick's Pediatric Cancer Dream Team:
Immunogenomics to Create New Therapies for High-Risk Childhood
Cancers. He and his colleagues in the Genetics Branch are seeking
to build a robust, nationally recognized clinical sequencing
infrastructure that will support and enable precision therapy
trials and to make important scientific discoveries.
Press Contact:
NCI Press
Officers
[email protected]
301-496-6641
Researcher Contact:
Dr. Javed Khan
National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.
301-435-2937
http://ccr.cancer.gov/staff/staff.asp?profileid=5584
[email protected]