The ICGC Programme

This programme was made possible thanks to the advent of second generation sequencers, which enable the analysis of over 10 billion bases a day per machine. Its objective is to produce an atlas of genetic modifications involved in different types of cancer. This atlas will provide an exhaustive account of the genomic and epigenomic modifications for 50 tumour types and sub-types, a work of great clinical and social significance to the world.

The results of this project will quickly be made available to the scientific community in order to speed up research on the onset and progression of specific types of cancer. The participants have agreed to refrain from applying for any patents or claiming any intellectual property rights on the raw data obtained.

In order to ensure sample uniformity and quality, participants are committed to adhering to the quality standards prescribed by ICGC. The consortium has also developed a basic set of ethical principles to ensure protection of those participating in the project. Data will be accessible to members of ICGC and to researchers but access to the global data will be strictly controlled. In addition to this, the ICGC co-ordination centre has also created a secure space for transmitting and storing data.

An article appearing in the journal Nature (Nature 464, 993-998 (15 April 2010)) and signed by over 200 authors participating in the ICGC project describes the progress of the projects with an emphasis on the ethical framework, the design of the studies and the rules for providing access to the data. ICGC also announced new members