Millions of people die of liver cancer each year worldwide

Wang Jian, dean of the Shenzhen Huada Gene Research Institute, pointed out that the development of biological sciences must first solve the problem of "speed of life and death." He explained that "it is to make people born healthier, so that sick people can live longer."

The birth of a child with birth defects will bring great burdens to families and society. In the United States, 10% of families and birth defects have different degrees of correlation. According to statistics, more than 80% of birth defects are genetically related. Through gene sequencing, the birth rate of congenitally deficient children can be greatly reduced.

Chinese and foreign scientists have for the first time constructed a high-precision, unbiased HBV Integration map on a genome-wide level, revealing potential mechanisms for the integration of hepatitis B virus and providing assistance in the early diagnosis, treatment, and targeted drug development of liver cancer.

This research project was completed by the University of Hong Kong, National University of Singapore, Shenzhen Huada Gene Research Institute, Asian Cancer Research Organization ACRG and the integration mechanism of hepatitis B virus (abbreviated as Hepatitis B virus, HBV), 28th in the international authoritative magazine "Nature - Genetics was published online.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (abbreviated as liver cancer) is one of the most common malignancies. About 1 million people in the world die of liver cancer each year. The incidence of liver cancer in China ranks first in the world and has become the second largest cancer killer. Hepatitis B virus gene can be integrated into the liver cell genome, so it is called hepatitis B virus integration. At present, the integration of hepatitis B virus is considered to play an important role in the development of liver cancer.

In this study, researchers performed genome-wide sequencing and analysis of cancer tissue samples and paracancerous tissue samples from 81 HBV-positive patients and 7 HBV-negative patients. It was found that HBV integration is a common phenomenon in liver cancer, and the frequency of HBV integration is significantly higher in cancer tissues than in adjacent tissues. The researchers also discovered three new HBV integration sites and speculated that these genes may play a very important role in the development of cancer.

The study also found that HBV integration is closely related to the clinical performance of patients. Patients with HBV integration will develop hepatocellular carcinoma earlier and have a lower cure rate. Therefore, intervention therapy through the integration of HBV may help prevent the deterioration of cancer and prolong the patient's life.

In the treatment of oncological diseases, through genome-wide analysis, tumor recurrence after surgery can find effective drug targets for drug treatment. "We measured genes in patients with lung cancer and used drugs that have been used to treat breast cancer in the past, which can make tumors smaller in two weeks." Wang Jian pointed out that targeted drugs through gene sequencing may have 50% in the next 3 to 5 years. -70% of tumors are treatable.

Clinical needs policy "green channel"

The emergence of new technologies in large numbers may conflict with existing policies. The experts pointed out that the clinical applications of new technologies such as genes require a "green channel." Zhu Yanmei, the deputy director of the China Academy of Science and Technology Management, presented a list of the 2011 industrial R&D input of the top 500 companies in the world. Among the top 10, 5 were related to biomedicine, but none of the Chinese finalists were Business in the field of biology. She believes that “policy makers should clear the way for innovation pioneers on the road.” Wang Jian believes that there is still a big obstacle in the promotion of new products. It will take time before it can be supported at the national level.

The head of the Scottish Regenerative Medicine Center and the father of Cloning, Ian Wilmer, proposed that there is an urgent need for international cooperation in the field of stem cell therapy. Governments should introduce relevant policies to clear the obstacles for international cooperation in stem cell therapy.

Big data is big support

Cai Hua, a senior technical expert of Alibaba Cloud Computing, pointed out that as the cost of gene sequencing technology is reduced, the cost of storage will increase, and cloud computing will become the infrastructure of the bio-industry. "Large-scale representations must be saved, and low-cost means to be affordable. Both of these can only rely on cloud computing." Cai Hua pointed out that through the big data processing of cloud computing, peaks and valleys are filled in resources and can be achieved. Low-cost goal.

Big data can also solve biopharmaceutical puzzles. Zhu Yanmei pointed out that over the past 60 years, pharmaceutical companies have invested more and more technology, and fewer and fewer heavyweight discoveries have been made. Today, many international large-scale pharmaceutical companies and Huada cooperate to use genetic sequencing and big data for R&D. Unfortunately, for the time being, there is no Chinese pharmaceutical company and Huada cooperated in researching drugs.

Big data also brought great results. Wang Jian disclosed in his speech that in the past two years, BGI has published a total of 50 papers in the world's top magazines such as "Nature," "Science," and "Cell." The average citation rate for big papers is 98.3, China's data is 6 and the world is 10, which fully illustrates the relevance of big data and big science.