● http://cgap.nci.nih.gov

In 1996, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) launched an exciting programme — the Cancer Genome Anatomy Project (CGAP). The goal of the CGAP is to determine the gene-expression profiles of normal, pre-cancer and cancer cells, which could lead to improved detection, diagnosis and treatment for the patient.

The CGAP data are freely available, and the CGAP is the largest contributor of sequences to the expressed sequence tag (EST) database. Some of this information is available elsewhere, but the site is well designed, easy to navigate and up-to-date — for example, the SAGEmap was relaunched in May this year.

The home page links through to eight main sections, covering biological and practical aspects — methods, tools and reagents — of the project. The biological sections cover chromosomes, tissues and pathways — the pathway maps, from which you can click through to individual gene information, are particularly helpful — and contain genomic data for humans and mice. These include ESTs, gene-expression patterns, single-nucleotide polymorphisms, cluster assemblies and cytogenetic information. Clicking through from the biology sections to the next level takes the user to pages with all of the tools and libraries of information that a researcher in the field could wish for. For the first-time user, there are clear instructions for use of these tools.

The slide tour and education resource, both accessed from the home page, explain the basic science behind the CGAP, and are excellent for those who are not familiar with genomics. Additions to the site could include links to other genome projects and biographies of project team members, but overall this is a very useful resource.