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| Vol. 23, No. 23 |
| December 15, 2001 |
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TMC Institutions Launch "TexGen" Project In an unprecedented genetic research collaboration, Texas Medical Center institutions are attacking the three leading causes of death in the United States – cardiovascular disease, cancer and stroke – at the molecular level. The presidents of three internationally known medical research institutions gathered Dec. 5 to announce the formation of the Texas Medical Center Genetics, or "TexGen," project, which will collect DNA on a voluntary basis from up to 50,000 cardiovascular and cancer patients each year. Scientists at TexGen’s three founding institutions – The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and Baylor College of Medicine – will then use this secure resource to identify genes that contribute to disease, analyze treatment outcomes, and tap the potential of genetics to tailor medical care to individual patients. "This important effort will help us get the latest advances in genetic and molecular research out of the lab and to the bedside much faster than if we had done this as separate institutions," said UT-Houston President Dr. James T. Willerson, who conceived the idea. "This is a collaborative opportunity to identify the genes and gene products that are critically involved in major cardiovascular diseases and cancer." TexGen is expected to stimulate research in disease prediction, disease mechanisms, surgical responses, drug responses, re-admission, second events, and survival. "We are looking at the role of genes in these common diseases and how they predict the outcomes of therapies that are routinely applied to these patients," said Dr. Eric Boerwinkle, director of the Research Center for Human Genetics at UT-Houston Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases and one of the project’s organizers. "The idea is that one day we will be able to genotype patients upon their arrival at the hospital and steer them to therapies they are most likely to respond to based on TexGen research." Dr. Willerson, with Dr. Boerwinkle, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center President Dr. John Mendelsohn, and leading scientists at Baylor, began organizing TexGen last fall. "Only in Houston could a project of this scope come to fruition," Dr. Willerson said. "The institutional partnerships, the availability of large numbers of highly diverse patients and generous private financial support are all unique to the Texas Medical Center." "The development of TexGen represents unparalleled synergy between the institutions of the Texas Medical Center and an innovative direction for discovery in this post-genomic era," Dr. Mendelsohn said. "For cancer research at M.D. Anderson, understanding our patients’ DNA makeup may one day allow us to offer therapies based on the genetic profile of the individual, and help us predict who is most likely to get cancer." "The value of TexGen is enhanced by the extensive patient follow up and clinical and epidemiological information that will be integrated into this specimen collection," said Dr. Margaret Spitz, chair of M.D. Anderson’s Department of Epidemiology and a member of TexGen’s board of directors. "M.D. Anderson was one of the first cancer centers to begin routinely gathering uniform epidemiological information – demographics, family history and lifestyle data – from every new patient. TexGen will serve as a complementary resource and stimulate innovative research into new and improved therapies, as well as enhance our ability for risk prediction." Dr. Jeffrey Towbin, professor of pediatric cardiology and molecular and human genetics, is a TexGen board member representing Baylor College of Medicine. "Understanding the genetic basis of heart disease and cancer in children is an important goal of TexGen, and Texas Children’s Hospital will play a central role in reaching that goal," said Dr. Towbin, who also is associate chief of pediatric cardiology at Texas Children’s Hospital. Scientists in the Texas Medical Center are acknowledged leaders in identifying genes contributing to common disease, said Dr. Boerwinkle, who has identified genetic variations that raise risk for hypertension, atherosclerosis, and stroke. "TexGen will provide the resources necessary to advance this field to the point where it will make a real difference to patients in terms of new methods of prevention and treatment," Dr. Boerwinkle said. Cardiovascular disease, cancer and stroke are caused by a complex interplay of factors including genetics (usually involving multiple genes), tobacco use, diet, exercise, and age, as well as other medical conditions, such as hypertension, which increases risk of stroke and heart disease. Statistically sorting out multiple factors requires large and diverse genetic samples, Dr. Boerwinkle explained. TexGen began as a pilot project at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital Sept. 13 and is expanding to other TMC hospitals. Data will be gathered voluntarily, including a one-time blood sample, from patients at these TexGen supporting institutions: St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Memorial Hermann Hospital, The Methodist Hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital, and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Information gathered will be routed to the TexGen database for management in a separate, secure computer system. Data made available to researchers will be anonymous – it will not be possible to identify individual patients using TexGen data. After their donation, volunteers will be contacted once a year by TexGen staff. Two scientific steering committees, one for vascular disease and one for cancer, will evaluate research proposals and authorize research protocols. Dr. Lorraine Frazier, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Boerwinkle’s lab and an associate professor in the UT-Houston School of Nursing, is TexGen project director. Drs. Spitz and Towbin have joined Drs. Boerwinkle, Willerson, and Mendelsohn on TexGen’s board of directors. Dr. Dianna Milewicz, vice chairman of the UT-Houston Medical School Department of Internal Medicine and director of the Division of Medical Genetics; Dr. Stanley Hamilton, head of the Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and interim chairman of M.D. Anderson’s Department of Hematopathology; and Dr. Frazier join the directors to form the TexGen steering committee. An outside advisory board also will be organized to ensure that the project’s objectives are met in a timely manner, and that the interests of patients remain the top priority. TexGen is a Texas not-for-profit corporation and is privately funded for $2 million a year for the first three years, a reflection of strong support from community and business leaders who recognize the project’s potential, Dr. Willerson noted. Organizers expect the majority of long-term funding ultimately to come from research grants to scientists who use TexGen’s resources. – With contributions from Scott Merville, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston; Laura Sussman, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; and Ron Gilmore, Baylor College of Medicine
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