Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women, where a germline predisposition plays a substantial role. However, the effects of pathogenic germline variants on accompanying breast cancers have not been fully characterized in terms of somatic alterations. We obtained tumor samples from 30 patients with pathogenic germline variants in BRCA2 (n = 25) and BRCA1 (n = 5), as well as an additional 30 patients without pathogenic germline mutations, in which somatic mutations in common breast cancer drivers and CNAs were analyzed using targeted panel sequencing.
High-risk human papillomavirus (hr-HPV) has been implicated in a subset of patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). We therefore hypothesized that HPV associated EAC may have distinct genomic aberrations compared with viral negative esophageal cancer as shown in Head and Neck cancer and cervical cancer. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed to explore the mutational landscape and potential molecular signature of HPV positive versus HPV negative EAC, which includes four hr-HPV-positive and 8 HPV-negative treatment naive fresh-frozen EAC tissue specimens and matched normal tissues.
Cancer cells enter a reversible drug tolerant persister (DTP) state to evade death from both chemotherapies and targeted agents. It is increasingly appreciated that the DTP state is an important driver of therapy failure and tumor relapse. We combined cellular barcoding and mathematical modeling in patient-derived colorectal cancer xenograft models to identify and characterize the cancer cells capable of generating DTPs in response to standard-of-care chemotherapy. Barcode analysis revealed no loss in clonal complexity of tumors that entered the DTP state and recurred following treatment cessation. Our data fits a mathematical model in which all cancer cells, and not a small subpopulation, possess an equipotent capacity to enter the DTP state. Mechanistically, we determined that DTPs display remarkable transcriptional and functional similarities to diapause, a reversible state of suspended embryonic development triggered by unfavorable environmental conditions. Our study provides new insights into how cancer cells use a developmentally conserved mechanism to drive the DTP state pointing to novel therapeutic opportunities to target diapause-like DTPs.
This genome-wide association study was funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to identify uncommon susceptibility loci for prostate cancer. A total of 4,600 prostate cancer cases and 2,840 controls of European ancestry from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial were genotyped using the Illumina HumanOmni2.5 and passed rigorous quality control filters. Additional genotype data (available in dbGap under other accession numbers) from 101 independent controls of European ancestry scanned with the HumanOmni2.5 were also included, resulting in a total of 4,600 cases and 2,941 controls for the published analysis. SNPs from the most promising regions, as determined by rank p-value, under multiple different models as well as select candidate genes were taken forward for replication using a custom Iselect chip in 6,575 cases and 6,392 controls of European ancestry. Results from the primary scan after imputation were then meta-analyzed with the Iselect results as well as results from previous GWAS. In a combined meta-analysis of the primary scan together with the custom Iselect replication and a previous GWAS, thirteen loci reached genome-wide significance (P < 5 x 10-8) for prostate cancer overall; however, each of them confirmed a previously reported locus. Although they did not reach genome-wide significance, we found evidence for two new suggestive loci at chromosome 16q22.2 (PKD1L3, rs12597458, P = 9.67 x 10-8) and 6p22.3 (CDKAL1, rs12198220, P = 2.13 x 10-7). In a combined case-only analysis of 12,518 prostate cancer cases, we identified two loci associated with Gleason score, a pathological measure of disease aggressiveness: rs35148638 at 5q14.3 (RASA1, P=6.49x10-9) and rs78943174 at 3q26.31 (NAALADL2, P=4.18x10-8). In a stratified case-control analysis, the SNP at 5q14.3 appears specific for aggressive prostate cancer (P=8.85x10-5) with no association for non-aggressive prostate cancer compared to controls (P=0.57). Only the cases and controls genotyped on the HumanOmni2.5 specifically for this study are included under this accession number. Controls (n=101) genotyped with the HumanOmni2.5 for another study are posted under a different accession number. Please note that the majority of prostate cancer cases and controls genotyped in CGEMS (and posted under a different accession number) are included in this study.
CLL cancer Sample Sequencing
Various Cancer Fusion Gene Sequencing
Raw methylation data from blood samples in breast cancer cases.
WES in 23 Angolan and 7 Cape Verdean triple-negative breast cancer samples
