Genetic Code of Cancer

Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (United Kingdom) researchers analyzed the genetic codes of 7,042 cases of cancer in people from around the world, covering 30 different types of the disease, to ascertain signatures  of mutational processes.  The team discovered that all the cancers contained two or more signatures –  a finding that suggests the variety of processes that work together when a cancer develops.  The researchers also found that different cancers have different numbers of mutational processes, with some signatures are in multiple cancer types, while others are only found in one type. Out of the 30 cancers studied, 25 had signatures from mutational processes linked to ageing. The investigators also discovered that a family of enzymes called APOBECs, known to mutate DNA, was linked to more than half of the cancer types studied. The study authors comment that: “The results reveal the diversity of mutational processes underlying the development of cancer, with potential implications for understanding of cancer aetiology, prevention and therapy.”