Kolkata, India (CU)_ According to the Department of Biotechnology, the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG) in Kalyani, West Bengal, has developed the world’s first database of genomic variants in oral cancer. This database is available to the public by the NIBMG, a DBT institute. It claimed that the database dbGENVOC is a free searchable virtual database of oral cancer genomic variations.
The first version of dbGENVOC comprises 24 million somatic and germline variations taken from 100 Indian oral cancer patients’ whole exome sequences, and five Indian oral cancer patients’ whole genome sequences. The variants were detected using a community-approved best practice approach and annotated with a multi-analytic pipeline.
According to the DBT statement, “dbGENVOC is not just a catalogue of genomic variants, it has a built-in powerful search engine. It also allows a reasonable extent of statistical and bioinformatic analysis to be carried out online, including identifying variants in associated altered pathways in oral cancer”.
This depository will be updated every year with new oral cancer patients data from various parts of India and Southeast Asia. This data will promote progress in oral cancer research and will be a huge step towards getting insight into their importance.
Oral cancer is the most common cancer among Indians, and it is mostly caused by tobacco use. Tobacco usage induces changes in the genetic makeup of oral cavity cells. Oral cancer is caused by these changes or mutations. The search for the genetic abnormalities that cause oral cancer is still underway. It further added that such driving mutations could be different in different groups.
