The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute's Treehouse Childhood Cancer Initiative program released a database of more than 11,000 tumor samples, which pediatric cancer researchers from across the globe will be able to access for free.
The tumor database comprises RNA-Seq gene expression data, as well as demographic information like age, disease and sex. The Treehouse Childhood Cancer Initiative uses genomic data and computation research to analyze a child's cancer data against childhood and adult patient cohorts in all types of tumors. The goal is to predict whether select adult drugs will be effective for pediatric patients.
The Treehouse Childhood Cancer Initiative's tumor database was funded by the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine and the St. Baldrick's Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises funds for childhood cancer research grants.