British scientists have completed the most comprehensive genetic analysis of cancer tumours to date, leading to new clues about the link between mutations and environmental factors, it has been announced.
Researchers said they had found patterns in DNA providing clues about patients’ past exposure to factors such as smoking and ultraviolet light.
The study also found 58 new mutational signatures. The researchers say that these may point to newly identified causes of cancer that are not fully understood.
The study, published in *Science*, involved analysis of genome sequences from more than 12,000 cancer patients treated in the NHS in England.
Researcher Dr Andrea Degasperi, from the University of Cambridge, UK, said: “Whole genome sequencing gives us a total picture of all the mutations that have contributed to each person’s cancer. With thousands of mutations per cancer, we have unprecedented power to look for commonalities and differences across NHS patients, and in doing so we uncovered 58 new mutational signatures and broadened our knowledge of cancer.”
Professor Serena Nik-Sainal, professor of genomic medicine and bioinformatics at the University of Cambridge, said: “The reason it is important to identify mutational signatures is because they are like fingerprints at a crime scene – they help to pinpoint cancer culprits. Some mutational signatures have clinical or treatment implications – they can highlight abnormalities that may be targeted with specific drugs or may indicate a potential Achilles Heel in individual cancers.”
*Science* 21 April 2022
Leave a Reply