Interactive Cancer Drug Discovery Database Has Been Enlarged and Enhanced

An important interactive data base for cancer drug discovery has been updated and augmented by the addition of three-dimensional structures of mutated proteins and maps of cancer communication networks.

The canSAR database was first introduced by the Institute of Cancer Research (London, United Kingdom) in 2011. Since then, it has emerged as one of the largest and most important tools for cancer researchers and drug developers.

The latest version of the interactive database (canSAR v. 3.0) is now freely available on the Internet (Please see related links below). The program integrates genomic, protein, pharmacological, drug, and chemical data with structural biology, protein networks, and druggability data. The new version, which was described in the December 15, 2015, online edition of the journal Nucleic Acid Research, boasts major enhancements including new data, improved search and browsing capabilities, new disease and cancer cell line summaries, and new and enhanced batch analysis tools.

In addition, the latest rendering of the database holds three-dimensional structures of almost three million potential drug targets on the surface of nearly 110,000 molecules of interest.

Senior author Dr. Bissan Al-Lazikani, team leader in computational biology at The Institute of Cancer Research, said, "Our database is constantly growing with information and is the largest of its kind—with more than 140,000 users from over 175 countries. And we regularly develop new artificial intelligence technologies that help scientists make predictions and design experiments. Our aim is that cancer scientists will be armed with the data they need to carry out life-saving research into the most exciting drugs of the future. Scientists need to find all the information there is about a faulty gene or protein to understand whether a new drug might work. These data are vast and scattered, but the canSAR database brings them together and adds value by identifying hidden links and presenting the key information easily."

Related Links:
The Institute of Cancer Research
canSAR v. 3.0