“… A pattern of genetic defects in tumours could indicate whether ovarian cancer patients will respond to common chemotherapy drugs before treatment starts, reveals a Cancer Research UK study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences … The researchers studied patterns of gene expression that indicate high levels of abnormal chromosomes or chromosomal instability (CIN) in cancer. …Patients with high levels of the CIN gene pattern were more resistant to paclitaxel.  Crucially, patients with high levels of CIN responded well to carboplatin – another commonly used ovarian cancer drug.  In contrast, tumours with low levels of CIN were resistant to carboplatin but responded to paclitaxel. …”

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