OUS scientists co-author Nature article: Mapping somatic mutations in breast cancer whole genomes

From left: Miriam R. Aure, Ole Chr. Lingjærde, Anita Langerød and Anne-Lise Børresen-Dale

The most comprehensive analysis to date of somatic (acquired) mutations, across whole-genome sequences for breast cancer, is reported in a paper published in the May 2nd edition of Nature (journal impact factor 41.5).
Miriam R. Aure, Anita Langerød, Ole Christian Lingjærde, and Anne-Lise Børresen-Dale from the "Molecular biology of breast cancer group" at the Department of Cancer Genetics has contributed substantially to the study.
A related paper, published in Nature Communications, explores how these mutations relate to aspects of genome structure. Together, the studies highlight the repertoire of genes and mutational processes involved in breast cancer and move us closer to a more complete account of the genetic basis of the disease.

Most currently available breast cancer sequences relate only to the parts of the genome that code for proteins (exome sequences, covering protein-coding regions), leaving many of the central questions about the molecular pathogenesis of the disease unresolved.

Serena Nik-Zainal, Michael Stratton and colleagues sequenced the whole genome of tumours and normal tissue from 560 breast cancer patients (556 female, 4 male), across both protein-coding regions and, representing an important advance, also non-coding regions. They identify mutations in 93 genes that are implicated in the genesis of disease. The authors identified several mutational signatures in these cancer genomes that are associated with defective DNA repair and the function of the tumour suppressor genes BRCA1 or BRCA2.

In the second paper, Serena Nik-Zainal and colleagues use the same 560 breast cancer genomes to show that specific mutational signatures are associated with elements of genomic architecture, and the timing of when parts of the genome are replicated.

Links:

The Nature paper:

Landscape of somatic mutations in 560 breast cancer whole-genome sequences
Serena Nik-Zainal et al.
Nature (2016) doi:10.1038/nature17676
Received 29 June 2015 | Accepted 17 March 2016 | Published online 02 May 2016
PDF

The Nature communications paper:
The topography of mutational processes in breast cancer genomes
Sandro Morganella et al.
Nature Communications (2016) DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11383
Received 1 Dec 2015 | Accepted 18 Mar 2016 | Published 2 May 2016 
PDF


Home page of Anne-Lise Børresen-Dale's group - Molecular biology of breast cancer

Miriam Ragle Aure's publications

Anita Langerød's project group - TP53 and somatic genetics of breast cancer

Ole Christian Lingjærde - presentation and publications

Anne-Lise Børresen-Dale's CV and publications

K.G. Jebsen Centre for Breast Cancer Research

 
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