Subclonal diversification of primary breast cancer

Cancers are ecosystems of genetically related clones, competing across space and time for limited resources. To understand the clonal structure of primary breast cancer, we applied genome and targeted sequencing to 295 samples from 49 patients’ tumors. The extent of subclonal diversification varied considerably among patients and encompassed many spatial patterns, including local growth, intraductal dissemination and clonal intermixture. Landmarks of disease progression, such as acquiring invasive or metastatic potential, arose within detectable subclones of antecedent lesions, suggesting that subclonal mutations could be relevant if actionable. No defined temporal order of mutation was evident, with the commonest genes, including PIK3CA, TP53, BRCA2, PTEN and MYC, mutated early in some, late in others, often exhibiting parallel evolution across subclones. Signatures of homologous recombination deficiency correlated with response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Thus, the interplay of mutation, growth and competition drives clonal structures of breast cancer that are complex, variable across patients and clinically relevant.

• 04/05/2016
• 42 samples
• DAC: EGAC00001000000
• Technology: Illumina HiSeq 2000