Communication for Research Scientists Presentation

Identifying genes that spread

killer cancer

Luke Zappia@_lazappi_

Cancer is BAD

21% of deaths worldwide(WHO Mortality Database, 2010)

30% of deaths in Australia(ABS Causes of Death, Australia, 2012)

COLORECTAL Cancer is

REALLY BadSecond worst cancer

Seventh biggest cause of death(ABS Causes of Death, Australia, 2012)

LATE STAGE Colorectal Cancer is really, REALLY bad

5 year survival

Early stage: 90% Mid Stage: 70%

Late Stage: 13%!(ACS, Cancer Facts and Figures 2014)

Why?

Colorectal Cancer: Tumor SizesFor the National Cancer Institute ©2005 Terese Winslow, U.S. Govt. has certain rights

How?

Labwork by Fanny Grillet, Jean-Marc Pascussi, Julie Pannequin

(CNRS Institute of Functional Genomics, Montpellier)

Our Data

Our Data

RNA-Seq

ALIGNMENT

COUNTING

EXPRESSION

PATHWAYS

Millions of short reads

- Where?

- How Many?

- On/off?

- Effects?

Colorectal cancer is bad

Metastasis is the killer

How do cancer cells spread?

AcknowledgementsSupervisorsArthur Hsu, Fred HollandeMembers of the Taylor lab and Department of Pathology

CollaboratorsFanny Grillet, Jean-Marc Pascussi, Julie PannequinCNRS Institute of Functional Genomics, Montpellier

ImagesHepatocellular Carcinoma, FNA Pathological and histological images courtesy of Ed Uthman at flickr, via Wikimedia Commons

Micrograph showing tumour budding in colorectal carcinoma, H&E stain By Nephron (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons