| Pilot Project

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) pilot project was initiated in 2006 as a comprehensive and coordinated effort to accelerate our understanding of the molecular basis of cancer through the application of genome analysis technologies and large scale sequencing. The pilot project has been focused on the characterization of three tumor types: glioblastoma multiforme, ovarian (serous cystadenocarcinoma) and lung (squamous carcinoma).

The TCGA pilot project has established an integrated network of clinical sites, core resources and specialized genome characterization and genome sequencing centers that have assessed the feasibility of a full-scale effort to systematically explore and publicly disseminate the entire spectrum of genomic changes involved in human cancer.

Learn more about how the TCGA pilot project works as an integrated network and about the individual components of the TCGA pilot project Research Network.

The past three years has led the TCGA Research Network to conclude that a team approach to cancer genomics is the most efficient and effective way to accelerate our ability to improve cancer care. The success of the TCGA pilot project has led to the decision to expand the scope of TCGA to address more than 20 types of cancer.