Don: Today on "A Moment of Science..."

Yaël: (DOOR-CLOSING) I'm here, Don! Sorry I'm late. I was driving a friend home      from her chemotherapy treatment at the hospital.

D: Oh? How is she, Yaël?

Y: She's doing well, the chemo seems to be working and her tumor is shrinking.

D: That's great news! Y'know, I wonder why chemotherapy works so well for some      people or cancers, but not as well for others.

Y: Scientists and doctors wonder the same thing, Don. In fact, researchers at MIT have      been studying how certain DNA-damaging compounds work in different people.      They identified forty-eight genes that can predict how susceptible an individual is to      the toxic compound known as MNNG.

     MNNG is similar to the toxic chemicals found in tobacco smoke and in common      chemotherapy agents. MNNG can kill cells by causing irreparable damage to the      cell's DNA. That's a good thing if the cell is a cancer cell.

     But the researchers found big differences in how susceptible different people's cells      are to damage by MNNG. By measuring the response of every single gene in the      cells of different healthy people, the team discovered that they could use forty-eight      specific genes to accurately predict how each individual's cells would react to      MNNG.

D: Wow. Do they think this could allow doctors to predict if someone will respond well      to chemo by looking at their genes?

Y: That's the hope. This study was specific for MNNG, but the researchers are now      using similar techniques to see if they can also predict individuals' responses to other      common toxic agents used in cancer treatments. Maybe one day doctors will be able      to custom-tailor treatments that best suit each individual patient.  

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