International Cancer Genome Consortium

Full description

The International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) has been organized to launch and coordinate a large number of research projects that have the common aim of elucidating comprehensively the genomic changes present in many forms of cancers that contribute to the burden of disease in people throughout the world. The primary goals of the ICGC are to generate comprehensive catalogues of genomic abnormalities (somatic mutations, abnormal expression of genes, epigenetic modifications) in tumors from 50 different cancer types and/or subtypes which are of clinical and societal importance across the globe and make the data available to the entire research community as rapidly as possible, and with minimal restrictions, to accelerate research into the causes and control of cancer. The ICGC facilitates communication among the members and provides a forum for coordination with the objective of maximizing efficiency among the scientists working to understand, treat, and prevent these diseases.