Felix Mitelman

Project: Database of chromosome aberrations and gene fusions in cancer. The aim of the project is to systematically register all cytogenetic aberrations reported in cancer, their molecular genetic consequences, and clinical relevance. The information is freely available (http://cgap.nci.nih.gov/Chromosomes/Mitelman) as an integrated component of the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) interdisciplinary program “The Cancer Genome Anatomy Project” (CGAP) with links to a network of databases of relevance to cancer research. The workplan includes: 1) Retrieval and registration of published data on a) karyotypic changes in neoplasia with patient and tumor characteristics, b) gene fusions identified by cytogenetics or genomic studies, e.g., next generation sequencing, and c) clinical-genetic associations. 2) Development of search parameters and search engines, and links to relevant databases within the framework CGAP. 3) Adjustment of karyotypes, gene designations and localizations, and tumor morphologies in accordance with the most recent nomenclature and classification systems, and 4) Research on the accumulated material.