Cancer prevention breakthrough: New DNA analysis finds ‘treasure trove’ of causes

In the biggest data discovery of its kind, Cambridge University scientists have found “mutational signatures” that provide clues to why a patient had cancer in the first place.

The data, which found patterns in the DNA of cancer, provides clues to whether a patient smoked, used tanning beds, or had an internal, cellular malfunction.

While the scientists have found the 58 new mutational signatures, they believe these are additional causes of cancer we do not yet fully understand.

The data was provided by the 100,000 Genomes Project, an England-wide research initiative supported by Cancer Research UK, which examines thousands of patients affected by rare disease or cancer.

Dr Andrea Degasperi, research associate at the University of Cambridge 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.”

Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1599067/cancer-prevention-dna-analysis-treasure-trove-causes-nhs-treatment