Chinese hospital publishes brain tumor database

BEIJING -- China's leading neurosurgery hospital has published a database of 2,000 gene samples from Chinese patients with glioma, a type of brain tumor. It provides massive amounts of data to enhance research and explore the precise treatment of the fatal brain disease.

The Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) database (http://cgga.org.cn) was established by researchers from the Beijing Tiantan Hospital under the Capital Medical University after a 15-year sample collection.

Jiang Tao, a senior neurosurgeon and founder of the database, said it is a web application not only for data storage but also an analysis tool that allows users to browse DNA mutation profile, gene expression profile and to do correlation and survival analysis.

"We expect to map a complete glioma genome of the Chinese population by using the database," said Jiang.

A glioma is a type of tumor that starts in the glial cells of the brain or the spine. It comprises about 30 percent of all brain tumors and central nervous system tumors, and 80 percent of all malignant brain tumors.

The database is now freely available and has been cited by a group of research institutions in the United States and Europe.

Jiang said the database will help more researchers across the world reveal the genetic mechanisms of the brain tumor and provide guidance for developing new drugs.