March, 2001

by Mary J. Shomon

News from the International Genome Conference outside of Rio de Janeiro is highlighting some of the efforts to make make Brazil a leader in the field of human genome research. Switzerland's Ludwig Institute reported that they are studying and preparing to test a new gene-based method that will diagnose thyroid gland tumors, allowing patients to avoid surgery if the tumor is not cancerous. Every year, about 6,000 new cases of thyroid cancer are diagnosed in Brazil, and about 11,000 are identified in the U.S.