Indian Cancer Genome Atlas (ICGA) Foundation

Mission Statement: To create an indigenously developed, open-source, comprehensive database of molecular profiles of cancers prevalent in Indian populations. Specifically, the goal is to characterize the genomic, transcriptomic, epigenetic, and proteomic features of Indian cancers using advanced, next-generation multi-omics technologies. In this public health effort, high-quality meta-data of cancer patients and biospecimens (blood, cancer tissues) representing various clinical scenarios are being ethically collected from various geographical regions of India. Big data generated after multi-omics profiling will be curated and analyzed for correlation with clinicopathological profiles. Such curated databases will be then open-sourced to the Indian and global cancer research communities. Strategy The successful creation and quality of the proposed open-source multi-omics database of Indian cancers will be entirely dependent on the uniformity, sanctity, and integrity of the meta-data and biospecimens collected from various geographical locations. Hence, a pan-India consortium of partners is being established, which will operate as a ‘hub-and-spoke’ model.