50,000 human genomes have now been sequenced from patients with cancer or rare diseases, under the 100,000 Genomes Project.
The 100,000 Genomes Project was launched in 2012 and has now reached the halfway mark – sequencing 50,000 human genomes from 40,000 patients.
Patients have already benefited from their participation in the project:
- participants with rare diseases have received faster diagnoses
- cancer patients have received personalised treatment programmes only made possible by the project
The project aims to provide better insight into the cause of diseases and how diseases develop in each individual. This will ensure that medicine is more targeted and there will be fewer unwanted side effects.