Researchers at UC San Diego analyzed over 2,600 colorectal tumors, uncovering a previously overlooked mutational signature that appears later in cancer progression and is linked to increased DNA insertions and deletions.
A group of University of California San Diego and their collaborators have uncovered a mutational signature pattern in colorectal cancer that had been overlooked in the past. Details of their study are reported in a press release.
Analyzing more than 2,600 tumors, the researchers discovered that the pattern had no association with the larger patterns it was previously thought to be part of. Additionally, they found that this pattern reveals itself later in colorectal cancer development. Tumors containing the pattern also “had more small insertions and deletions in their DNA.”
These findings provide evidence that this pattern is a common feature of some colorectal cancers, according to UC San Diego. They also provide a better understanding of “what unusual mutational patterns can reveal about the processes that shape cancer development.” Next steps for this research include further studies aiming to “identify the underlying mechanisms driving these and other unexplained mutational signatures in cancer.”
