Get ready for the brave new world of genetic medicine.

In a paper published in the [October 23, 2008] issue of the journal Nature, the Tumor Sequencing Project (TSP) consortium identified 26 genes that are frequently mutated in lung adenocarcinoma—an achievement that more than doubles the number of genes known to be associated with this deadly disease. But this pioneering effort involved far more than just tallying up genes. Using a systematic, multidisciplinary approach, the TSP team also detailed key pathways involved in the disease and described patterns of genetic mutations among different subgroups of lung cancer patients, including smokers and never-smokers.1