Vancouver - In the first large-scale collaboration between Canada and China in genome science, researchers at the Genome Sequence Centre at the BC Cancer Agency are studying human genes linked to liver cancer and mental illnesses. The Government of Hong Kong awarded the BC Cancer Agency and the Chinese University of Hong Kong $2 million ($9.9 million in Hong Kong currency) for the project, which began in 1999. The agency is supplying gene sequencing expertise and equipment and the university provides knowledge about liver cancer and tissue samples for study.

"Together, we can do more to find answers to liver cancer than we could each do alone," says Dr. Victor Ling, principal investigator for the project and vice-president of research for the BC Cancer Agency. The incidence of liver cancer is high in South East Asia and in many people who move from there to Canada. "Our colleagues in Hong Kong bring us their experience with liver cancer. We bring something they don't have - our genome sequencing capability. Once we discover new genes that may prove to be important targets for therapy we will seek support from industry for the project."

The BC Cancer Agency established the Genome Sequence Centre in 1999, and it is one of few in the world devoted to cancer treatment and research. Scientific leaders around the world believe understanding the genetic basis of cancer will lead to more effective, less-invasive treatments. Nobel Prize winner Dr. Michael Smith is the new director of the Genome Sequence Centre.

"This project differs from other sequencing centres in Great Britain, the United States and elsewhere," Smith says. "It is the first genomics laboratory in the Canada established to work closely with cancer researchers to understand the genetic basis of cancer. It has access to the extraordinary clinical resources of the internationally renowned cancer treatment system at the BC Cancer Agency, including a patient database that goes back to 1969."

The Genome Sequence Centre is part of the Centre for Integrated Genomics, a joint venture between the BC Cancer Agency and the University of British Columbia (UBC). Other components of the integrated centre are the BC Cancer Research Centre, the UBC Biotechnology Laboratory and clinical research at BC Cancer Agency treatment centres.

"Our collaboration with the Chinese University of Hong Kong is a harbinger of future research contracts we will draw as leaders in genome science," Ling says. "We are well-positioned to bring national and international research partnerships to B.C."

New discoveries and expertise at the Genome Sequence Centre will be shared with research centres around the world. The centre will also contribute to the Human Genome Project, a worldwide initiative to understand the structure of human DNA and discover the location and sequence of 100,000 genes. The information will be the source book for biomedical science in the 21st century and provide new clues to diagnose and treat many of the 4,000 or more genetic diseases, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Huntington's disease.