Cancer has become a major burden of disease worldwide. Each year tens of millions of people are diagnosed with cancer around the world and more than half of such patients eventually die from it. However, a Qatar-based Kashmiri scientist who is working on genomic sequencing of different tumor regions claims that targeted therapy can improve survival of cancer patients.
Dr. Tariq Masoodi, who hails from central Kashmir’s Budgam district, is currently working in Cancer Omics Lab in Cancer Research Department at Sidra Medicine, Doha Qatar.
Having expertise in cancer research at KL University, India and King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, Saudi Arabia, Dr. Masoodi has completed his Masters in Bioinformatics from the Bharathidasan University, India on ‘Virtual Screening of Small Molecule Inhibitors Against Breast Cancer Receptor AUF1’.
The Kashmiri research scientist has worked on cancer genomics to understand tumor progression or evolution, metastatic disease, non-coding genome alterations, mutational and expression signatures. He also carried out several projects on sensitive approaches to detect tumor-derived mutations in cell-free DNA from patient blood plasma and analyze multi-omics data in different solid tumors to identify signatures of cancer therapeutic resistance and patient’s overall survival.
During his research, Dr. Masood mainly focused on identifying novel somatic point mutations, indels and large chromosomal rearrangements, differentially expressed genes and differently alternative splicing events.
“Besides I worked on evolutionary genomics by sequencing different tumor regions from the same patients to see the type and origin of tumor (both spatial and temporal) using whole exome and targeted capture sequencing”, he added.
Dr. Masoodi believes if targeted therapy can be given to cancer patients the disease can be cured. He said the lack of infrastructure and costly equipment in the valley leaves patients to suffer badly.
“A cancer starts from a single cell and when it gets multiplied it becomes a tumor. The immune system fights with cancer cells automatically. If the immune system is weak or cancer cells escape it, the cells turn into advanced tumors gradually,” the scientist said.
Dr. Masoodi said in Kashmir the cancer has emerged as a bigger threat which needs coordinated efforts to challenge it. He also said the emergence of tumors cannot be reversed “however there is a mechanism in place to modify immune cells in a person which costs heavy.”
Defining the types of cancers prevalent, he said for hereditary cancers, one has to screen himself regularly. “This cancer remains dormant in young age due to a strong immune system in the body, however after 40 or 45 it emerges and grips the person badly, while as for sporadic cancers one has to go through different types of screening programs to check out the frequency.”
About therapy, Dr. Tariq Masoodi said unlike other parts of the world, the patients in Kashmir receive blind therapy during treatment as there is no advanced infrastructure in place. “We see patients with multiple complications post-radio or post-chemo therapy. It happens only due to blind therapy. Patients face numerous side effects during therapy. It cannot be avoided in a place where infrastructure is poor. Outside J&K and India, health experts initially study genes and then target the actual one through therapies which cured the patients absolutely and saved them from side effects and other complications,” he said.
He said in European countries the survival of cancer patients is much better than India due to advanced health and research infrastructure in place.
