9337 results for "cancer rna-seq"

in 40.23 milliseconds.

• Mutational landscape of normal epithelial cells in Lynch Syndrome patients

  Lynch Syndrome (LS) is an autosomal dominant disease conferring a high risk of colorectal cancer due to germline heterozygous mutations in a DNA mismatch repair (MMR) gene. Although cancers in LS patients show elevated somatic mutation burdens, information on mutation rates in normal tissues and understanding of the trajectory from normal to cancer cell is limited. Here we whole-genome sequenced 152 crypts from normal and neoplastic epithelial tissues from LS patients. In normal tissues the repertoire of mutational processes and mutation rates were similar to those found in wild type individuals. A morphologically normal colonic crypt with an increased mutation burden and mutational signatures consistent with MMR deficiency was identified, which may represent a very early stage of LS pathogenesis. Phylogenetic tress of tumour crypts indicated that the most recent ancestor cell of each tumour was already MMR deficient and had experienced multiple clonal evolution cycles. This study demonstrates the genomic stability of epithelial cells with heterozygous germline MMR gene mutations and highlights important differences in the pathogenesis of LS from other colorectal cancer predisposition syndromes.

  Dataset EGAD00001008092

• Comprehensive genomic profiles of small cell lung cancer

  We have sequenced the genomes of 110 small cell lung cancers (SCLC), one of the deadliest human cancers. We found bi-allelic inactivation of TP53 and RB1 in nearly all the tumors analyzed, sometimes by complex genomic rearrangements. Two tumors with wild-type RB1 had evidence of chromothripsis leading to overexpression of Cyclin D1, revealing an alternative mechanism of Rb1 deregulation. Thus, loss of the tumor suppressors TP53 and RB1 is obligatory in SCLC. We further discovered somatic genomic rearrangements of TP73 that create an oncogenic version of this gene, TP73Δex2/3. In few cases, SCLC tumors exhibited kinase gene mutations, providing a possible therapeutic opportunity for individual patients. Finally, we observed inactivating mutations in NOTCH family genes in 25% of human SCLC. Accordingly, activation of Notch signaling in a pre-clinical SCLC mouse model dramatically reduced the number of tumors and extended the survival of the mutant mice. Furthermore, neuroendocrine gene expression was abrogated by Notch activity in SCLC cells. This first comprehensive study of somatic genome alterations in SCLC uncovers several key biological processes and identifies candidate therapeutic targets in this highly lethal form of cancer.

  Study EGAS00001000925

• Dynamics of sequence and structural cell-free DNA landscapes in small-cell lung cancer

  Patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) have an exceptionally poor prognosis, calling for improved real-time non-invasive biomarkers of therapeutic response. We performed targeted error-correction sequencing on 171 serial plasmas and matched white blood cell (WBC) DNA from 33 patients with metastatic SCLC who received systemic treatment with chemotherapy or immunotherapy-containing regimens. Tumor-derived sequence alterations and plasma aneuploidy were evaluated serially and combined to assess changes in total cell-free tumor load (cfTL). Longitudinal dynamic changes in cfTL were monitored to determine circulating cell-free tumor DNA (ctDNA) molecular response during therapy. Combined tiered analyses of tumor-derived sequence alterations and plasma aneuploidy allowed for assessment of ctDNA molecular response in all patients. Molecular responses captured the therapeutic effect and long-term clinical outcomes in a more accurate and rapid manner compared to radiographic imaging. Patients with sustained molecular responses had longer overall (log-rank p=0.0006) and progression-free (log-rank p<0.0001) survival, with molecular responses detected on average 4 weeks earlier than imaging. ctDNA analyses provide a rapid approach for the assessment of early on-therapy molecular responses and have important implications for the management of patients with SCLC, including the development of improved strategies for real-time tumor burden monitoring.

  Study EGAS00001006831

• Transposable Elements in FTLD-TDP and ALS-TDP

  Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease involving the rapid and progressive loss of motor neurons. While a number of inherited mutations have been identified as causing ALS, the vast majority of cases are sporadic with no family history of disease. This has led to the model that ALS may be a complex syndrome with an unknown number of causal molecular pathways. However, nearly all ALS patient tissues display aggregates of the RNA binding protein TDP-43 (TARDBP/TAR DNA-binding protein), and mutations in the gene encoding this protein are known to cause ALS. We show that one of the normal functions of TDP-43 is to bind and regulate retrotransposons, repetitive sequences in the genome that are normally silent, due in part to the function of TDP-43. Furthermore, we demonstrate that many ALS patients with TDP-43 pathology also display de-silencing of retrotransposon RNAs, consistent with a loss of normal TDP-43 function. Those ALS patients that exhibit high levels of retrotransposon expression form a distinct subset of ALS subjects that also show other correlated alterations to the transcriptome. Using unsupervised machine learning algorithms, we identified three distinct molecular subtypes from the whole genomes and transcriptomes of a large cohort of 148 ALS patient samples. The retrotransposon re-activated subset formed 20% of ALS samples; two additional groups displayed signatures of oxidative stress (61%), and glial dysfunction (19%), respectively. Together these results demonstrate that retrotransposon re-activation is common in a subset of ALS patients with TDP-43 pathology.

  Study phs001889

• Decoding Human Heart Morphogenesis through Single-cell Multi-modal Analyses

  The heart, which is the first organ to develop, is highly dependent on its form to function. However, how diverse cardiac cell types spatially coordinate to create complex morphological structures critical for heart function remains to be elucidated. Here, we show that integration of single cell RNA-sequencing with high-resolution multiplexed error-robust fluorescent in situ hybridization (MERFISH) not only resolves the identity of cardiac cell types developing the human heart but also provides a spatial mapping of individual cells that enables illumination of their organization into cellular communities forming distinct cardiac structures. We discovered that many of these cardiac cell types further specified into subpopulations exclusive to specific communities, supporting their specialization according to cellular ecosystem and anatomic region. In particular, ventricular cardiomyocyte subpopulations displayed an unexpected complex laminar organization across the ventricular wall and formed, with other cell subpopulations, several cellular communities. Interrogating cell-cell interactions within these communities revealed signaling pathways orchestrating the spatial organization of cardiac cell subpopulations during ventricular wall morphogenesis. In vivo conditional genetic mouse models and in vitro human pluripotent stem cell studies confirmed an intricate multicellular PLXN-SEMA crosstalk among specific ventricular cardiomyocyte, fibroblast and endothelial cell subpopulations that directs the compaction of the ventricular wall layers. Thus, these detailed findings into the cellular social interactions and specialization of cardiac cell types constructing and remodeling the human heart offer new insights into structural heart diseases as well as engineering complex multi-cellular tissues for human heart repair. Reprinted from Farah et al. (In press), with permission from Nature.

  Study phs002031

• Parallel CRISPR Editing of Familial ALS Mutations Into a Healthy Control iPSC Line

  Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provide a modeling system for human disease within the critical context of the human genome. CRISPR editing of iPSCs allows the construction of isogenic pairs where the cells have nearly identical genomes except for the desired edited change. Here, we used CRISPR editing on a healthy control line to generate three new isogenic iPSC lines that each contains a different familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS) mutation (TARDBP[G298S/+], SOD1[G85R/+], and PFN1[G118V/+]). As controls for each mutation, we retained iPSC lines that went through the editing process but did not have the desired heterozygous mutation. We have produced high-throughput sequencing data from these isogenic lines in two different studies:(1) In “Human sensorimotor organoids derived from healthy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis stem cells form neuromuscular junctions” (Pereira et al. 2021), we performed exome sequencing to confirm the absence of off-target CRISPR events. We also performed single-cell sequencing on sensorimotor organoids from a second healthy control iPSC line, which is deposited alongside the exome sequencing data.(2) In “iPSC Motor Neurons, But Not Other Derived Cell Types, Capture Gene Expression Changes in Postmortem Sporadic ALS Motor Neurons” (Held et al. 2023), we differentiated these isogenic lines into motor neurons, sensory neurons, cortical neurons, and astrocytes and then performed bulk RNA-sequencing. We then assessed similarities between fALS mutations, differences between cell types, and the capacity of iPSC modeling to capture differentially expressed genes in postmortem sporadic ALS motor neurons.

  Study phs002440

• Non-Coding Autoimmune Risk Variant Defines Role for ICOS in T Peripheral Helper Cell Development

  Our fine-mapping of 76 non-MHC loci associated with risk for rheumatoid arthritis (RA, 11,475 cases, 15,870 controls) has recently identified rs117701653, a non-coding single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the CTLA4/CD28/ICOS locus, as the variant most likely to modulate RA risk within this region, with the minor allele C showing disease protection compared to the major allele A. We found that this SNP exhibits allele-specific protein binding and transcriptional modulation, further supporting its regulatory nature. Here, we aimed to determine whether the functional non-coding variant rs117701653 modulates the expression of genes within the CD28/CTLA4/ICOS locus. To address this question, we employed low-input RNA sequencing using the Illumina SmartSeq2 platform on resting total CD4+ T cells from the blood of 24 healthy subjects (8 AA, 8 AC, 8 CC) recruited based on genotype from the Mass General Brigham biobank. We performed a targeted cis-eQTL mapping analysis for protein coding genes with transcription start sites (TSS) within a 1MB window of SNP rs117701653. These genes included WDR12, NBEAL1, CYP20A1, ABI2, RAPH1, CD28, CTLA4, ICOS, and PARD3B. Surprisingly, allelic variation at rs117701653 correlated strongly with expression of ICOS. This suggests that individuals carrying the protective allele C at rs117701653 express lower levels of ICOS, implicating ICOS as a plausible target gene influenced by this protective allele. The raw sequence data from the 24 healthy individuals are available through dbGAP. Gene expression matrices have been deposited to GEO accession GSE235868.

  Study phs003448

• DNA demethylation is associated with malignant progression of low-grade gliomas

  To elucidate the mechanisms of tumor progression is key to discovering strategies for treating patients with lower-grade glioma. Thus to characterize the changes in the molecular profile during malignant progression, we performed methylation array analysis (122 tumors), whole-exome sequencing (36 tumors and matched normal samples), and RNA sequencing (31 tumors). This cohort included 24 matched pairs of initial lower-grade gliomas and recurrent tumors, most of which showed malignant progression when they recurred. Nearly half of IDH-mutant glioblastomas that had progressed from lower-grade gliomas exhibited characteristic partial DNA demethylation in previously methylated genomic regions of their corresponding initial tumors, which had the glioma CpG island methylator phenotype (G-CIMP). In these glioblastomas, cell cycle-related genes were upregulated, RB and PI3K-AKT pathway genes were frequently altered. Notably, bioinformatics analysis revealed that late-replicating domain was significantly enriched in the demethylated regions that were mostly located in non-regulatory regions, suggesting that the loss of DNA methylation during malignant transformation may involve mainly passive demethylation due to a delay in maintenance of methylation during accelerated cell division. Nonetheless, a limited number of genes including IGF2BP3, which potentially drives cell proliferation, were presumed to be upregulated due to demethylation of their promoter. Thus, cell proliferation was further promoted by passive demethylation in the promoter region of these oncogenic genes. Our data indicated that demethylation of the G-CIMP profile found in a subset of recurrent gliomas reflects accelerated cell divisions accompanied by malignant transformation. Oncogenic genes activated by such epigenetic change represent potential therapeutic targets.

  Study JGAS000146

• Gene expression of human Th17 cells before and after activation

  Although gene expression of human Th17 clones has been studies, to date, molecular mechanisms for human Th17 development remain unclear. We have analyzed gene expression of human Th17 cells before and after activation. Th17-cell clones from peripheral blood CD4 T cells cultured with LPS-stimulated dendritic cells derived from monocytes stimulated by TNF were established by a limited dilution method. One of the Th17 clones was proliferated significantly, and high percentages (>70%) of Th17 cells in the cultured cells were maintained by addition of monocytes, IL-1b, and IL-15. CD161+CXCR3- cells (CD161+Th17) in the cultures were sorted and purified up to approximately 97% of IL-17-producing cells after treatment with PMA/ionomycin. Furthermore, these cells were treated with TCR-stimuli, IL-1b, and IL-23 for 2 days, and IL-17-producing Th17 cells (active-Th17) detected by IL-17-catch-up antibodies were sorted. Total RNA sampled from 1x 106 CD161+Th17, active-Th17, na?ve CD4 T cells, or CXCR3+ Th1 cells from combined CD4 T and dendritic cell cultures was used for SAGE. SAGE was performed by using SOLID TM SAGETM kit with barcoding adaptor molecules (Applied Biosystems). DNA sequence was analyzed by using AB5500 Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems), and gene expression was analyzed by using SOLID? SAGETM software (Applied Biosystems). Our data shows high levels of IL-17A-mRNA expression by active-Th17; however, but only slight expression by CD161+Th17. Therefore, the data could provide alteration of gene expression by Th17 cells before and after stimulation.

  Study JGAS000005

• Innate myeloid cell sbuset-specific gene expression patterns in the human colon are altered in Crohn's disease patients

  Background: There is a heterogeneous subset innate myeloid cells, such as macrophages and dendritic cells, in the human intestinal lamina propria. Several studies have demonstrated that these cells contribute to the maintenance of gut homeostasis through induction of inflammatory responses and tolerance via cell type-specific mechanisms; whereas, disrupted innate immune responses are implicated in the pathogenesis of Crohn?s disease. However, the detailed mechanisms by which each innate myeloid subset regulates gut homeostasis and inflammation largely remains unknown. Aim: We aimed to clarify the comprehensive gene expression profiles of innate myeloid cell subsets in the lamina propria from normal human colons (NC) and the inflamed colon sites from patients with Crohn?s disease (CDi). Methods: We performed RNA-sequencing analysis and precise bioinformatics analysis on three innate myeloid cell subsets, CD14-CD11c-, CD14-CD11c+, and CD14+CD11c+CD163low cells from NC and CDi. Results: Transcriptional analysis of the three subsets from the NC showed distinct gene expression patterns and gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis revealed the associated innate myeloid subset-specific biological process (BP) terms. In addition, changes in gene expression patterns were observed in innate myeloid subsets from CDi. Furthermore, the core GO-BP terms for the genes upregulated in the innate myeloid cells from CDi were distinct from those found in NC. Conclusion: Our data identified the innate myeloid cell subset-specific transcriptomes and the associated enriched GO-BP terms in the NC and found these patterns were altered in CDi.

  Study JGAS000127

• Transcriptome_human_nasal_epithelium

  1. Odors are detected, firstly, by olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) in the olfactory epithelium of the nose. This neurons then project directly to the olfactory bulb in the brain. Olfaction depends on cellular regeneration of the OE, olfactory bulb and hippocampus, and on their continual re-wiring. The olfactory neural pathway includes regions of the frontal, temporal and limbic brain, which in turn overlap with brain areas involved in brain disorders. OSNs are the only aspect of the human brain exposed to the external environment. This not only makes them vulnerable to environmental changes, but also accessible for biomedical studies.We have already sequenced and developed a protocol for analyzing the transcriptome of mouse main olfactory epithelium and single OSNs. We propose here to perform a similar study for samples from the human olfactory epithelium. We have developed a minimally invasive method for obtaining human OSNs, among other cells from the nasal epithelium. In this experiment, we have obtained cell samples from the olfactory epithelium, including OSN, from healthy volunteers. We would like to further characterize them by RNA sequencing. This will give us valuable insight into human olfaction. It will also provide a first step into a new avenue to study, and find biomarkers for, brain diseases though the analysis of these easily available neurons. This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/

  Study EGAS00001001294

• Healthy_ageing_thymus

  Single cell RNA sequencing of immune and non-immune cells from healthy ageing thymus Thymus is a primary lymphoid organ that creates an environment for the T lymphocyte precursors differentiation into the naive T cells, which involves TCR gene rearrangement, negative and positive selection. Despite thymus critical function for the recognition of the pathogens it starts to atrophy very early in life. Thymic Epithelial Space (TES), where thymocyte education occurs, starts to decline rapidly just after birth, while with the onset of puberty thymus is also progressively replaced with adipose tissue. This leads to a reduced naive T cell output,which decreases an organism's ability to recognize pathogens. In our lab, we have already collected and characterized cell type composition and gene regulatory networks of the fetal tand adult human thymus (Park et al, Science 2020). In the current project we plan to expand the number of paediatric and adult samples in the study with the aim to understand how the process of thymic involution happens. We will use single-cell transcriptomics to zoom on changes that occur in immune and non-immune cell types in different phases of thymic involution with the hope to understand which gene expression changes are causal for the thymic involution process and how naïve T cell production can be increased in elderly. This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/

  Study EGAS00001004311

• Longitudinal_profiling_of_the_immune_response_to_Plasmodium_vivax_in_naive_hosts_by_RNA_sequencing

  Plasmodium vivax offers unique challenges for control and elimination, and may prove a tougher hurdle to overcome than Plasmodium falciparum. And yet compared to P. falciparum we know very little about the innate and adaptive immune responses that need to be harnessed to reduce disease and transmission. We recently generated a blood bank of a new clonal field isolate of P. vivax (PvW1) for human challenge studies and used systems immunology tools to track the host response throughout infection and convalescence. As part of this study, RNA-sequencing was used to resolve changes in whole blood gene expression through time in 6 volunteers (7-9 time-points per volunteer). In summary, these data show that P. vivax induces two distinct transcriptional programmes in whole blood during and after infection. During infection, transcriptional profiling reveals the rapid mobilisation of an emergency myeloid response, which leads to systemic inflammation and the recruitment of all major T cell subsets into lymphoid tissues. Six days after infection, this innate response subsides and a transcriptional signature of proliferation is revealed. This most likely represents widespread activation of lymphocytes, which return to the circulation after parasite clearance - transcriptional profiling of T cells at this time-point could therefore reveal the outcomes of critical cell-cell interactions that take place within the spleen during infection. This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/

  Study EGAS00001003847

• Exome sequencing

  Human telomere biology disorders (TBD), a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by telomere attrition and premature aging phenotypes, are caused by inherited loss-of-function mutations in telomere-associated genes. Here, we identify three germline heterozygous missense variants in RPA1 gene in four unrelated probands presenting with short telomeres and varying clinical features of TBD including bone marrow failure, myelodysplastic syndrome, T- and B-cell lymphopenia, pulmonary fibrosis, and skin manifestations. All variants cluster to DNA binding domain A of RPA1 protein. RPA1 is an essential single-strand DNA-binding protein essential for DNA replication and repair. RPA1 has been implicated in telomere maintenance but the mechanism remains elusive. Thus far, no genetic disorder had been linked to RPA1. Using FRET assays, we showed that RPA1E240K and RPA1V227A exhibit increased binding to single-strand and telomeric DNA, implying a gain in DNA-binding function while RPA1T270A has binding properties similar to wild type. To study the mutational effect, RPA1E240K, with the highest binding capacity, was knocked-in iPSCs using CRISPR/Cas9, which showed severe telomere shortening and impaired hematopoietic differentiation. Furthermore, in the RPA1E240K patient, stable blood counts over two decades due coincided with clonal rescue hematopoiesis with an RNA-degrading truncating RPA1 mutation and a uniparental isodisomy 17p with loss of RPA1E240K allele. Using single cell DNA sequencing, the two somatic genetic rescue events were proven to be independently acquired in hematopoietic stem cells. In summary, we describe the first human disease caused by germline RPA1 variants in individuals with TBD.

  Study EGAS00001005761

• Structure and evolution of double minutes in diagnosis and relapse brain tumors

  Double minute chromosomes are extrachromosomal circular DNA fragments frequently found in brain tumors. To understand their evolution, we characterized the double minutes in paired diagnosis and relapse tumors from a pediatric high-grade glioma and four adult glioblastoma patients. We determined the full structures of the major double minutes using a novel approach combining multiple types of supporting genomic evidence. Among the double minutes identified in the pediatric tumor, only one carrying EGFR was maintained at high abundance in both samples, whereas two others were resent in only trace amounts at diagnosis but abundant at relapse, and the rest were found either in the relapse sample only or in the diagnosis sample only. For the EGFR-carrying double minutes, we found a secondary somatic deletion in all copies at relapse, after erlotinib treatment, but this was rare at diagnosis, suggesting potential resistance to the EGFR inhibitor. This mutation caused an in-frame RNA transcript to skip exon 16, a novel transcript absent in EST database and in about 700 brain tumors that we reviewed. We observed similar patterns involving longitudinal copy number shift of double minutes in another four pairs (diagnosis / relapse) of adult glioblastoma. Overall, in three of five paired tumor samples, we found that although the same oncogenes were amplified at diagnosis and relapse, they were amplified on different double minutes. Our results suggest that double minutes readily evolve, increasing tumor heterogeneity rapidly. Understanding patterns of double minute evolution can shed light on future therapeutic solutions to brain tumors carrying such variants.

  Study EGAS00001003212

• Genetic Factors associated with Conversion from Active Surveillance to Treatment for Prostate Cancer

  This is a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of conversion from active surveillance (AS) for prostate cancer (PC) to treatment. AS is the monitoring with screening tests and/or biopsies over time of men usually with low-risk, early-stage PC to avoid harmful side effects of PC treatment. "Conversion" refers to patients who withdraw from AS (switch to active treatment) due to changes in their cancer development, anxiety about delayed treatment, or other reasons. Patients who converted because of anxiety alone were censored in the GWAS analysis. The overall goal of this study is to develop an easily measurable, germline-based panel of genetic variants to aid in selecting PC patients appropriate for AS and/or the intensity of monitoring. In total, 6,324 PC patients from 28 collaborating institutions are included in this study. Patients are those with PC who are either on AS or who have previously converted from AS to treatment. In this study, 70% of all subjects were diagnosed with very low-risk, low-risk, or low-volume intermediate-risk PC (Kryvenko and Epstein, 2016; PMID: 26709152) and have been enrolled in an AS program. DNA was extracted from blood, saliva, or formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue collected from the study subjects at the participating sites. Genotyping, quality control processes, and imputation were performed at the Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR) at Johns Hopkins University. CIDR used the Illumina Infinium Multi-Ethnic Global Array (MEGA) version 1, which included genome-wide tag SNPs and 10,000 SNPs selected with custom content. Quality control and assurance (QC/QA) checks on genotyped data involved four domains: sample-level checks, batch effects, SNP-level checks, and preliminary association tests. Samples and SNPs passing the QC/QA checks were imputed to appropriate reference panels (HRC r1.1 for patients of European ancestry) using the Michigan Imputation Server (PMID: 27571263). Unmeasured genetic variants were imputed using the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Imputation Server, with 97,256 reference samples and 308,107,085 SNPs. Variants with imputation quality (INFO) score < 0.3 were excluded, leaving a total of 22,691,641 SNPs successfully imputed. After QC steps, a total of 5,936 samples genotyped at CIDR remained for inclusion in the GWAS.

  Study phs002056

• Genome Sequencing of Hepatocellular Carcinoma at The Human Genome Sequencing Center of Baylor College of Medicine (HGSC-BCM)

  Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 85-90% of primary liver cancers. We have focused on three major HCC etiologies:hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and nonviral causes. The onset and progression of cancer is driven by extensive rearrangement and mutation of the genome. We combined our capability to capture and enrich exome DNA with the next generation sequencing capacity to allow us to detect and characterize the somatic mutation profile of patients with HCC. Patient samples were collected by the Liver Center, Division of Abdominal Transplantation in the Baylor College of Medicine Department of Surgery. Sequencing of HCC is one of the NHGRI Center Initiated Projects in progress in the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College of Medicine.

  Study phs000509

• Genomic sequencing of Pediatric Rhabdomyosarcoma

  Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most common soft tissue sarcoma of childhood accounting for approximately 350 newly diagnosed cases yearly in the United States. With the development of multimodal chemotherapy regimens, relapse-free survival rates have improved to 70-80% in patients with localized disease albeit with significant toxicity. Unfortunately, despite aggressive treatment, patients with metastatic or recurrent disease continue to suffer from high mortality. Further characterization of the genetic events underlying this tumor type is critical for the development of more effective diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic strategies. In a collaborative effort between the National Cancer Institute, the Children's Oncology Group, and the Broad Institute, we use a combination of whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing to characterize the landscape of somatic alterations in 147 tumor/normal pairs.

  Study phs000720

• NHLBI TOPMed - NHGRI CCDG: Malmo Preventive Project (MPP)

  The Malmö Preventive Project (MPP) was a community-based disease prevention program including 33,346 inhabitants from the city of Malmö in Southern Sweden. Complete birth cohorts between 1921-1949 were invited, and the participation rate was 71%. Participants underwent screening between 1974 to 1992 for cardiovascular risk factors, alcohol abuse, and breast cancer. Between 2002-2006, surviving participants were invited to a reexamination which included blood sampling from which DNA has been extracted. Subjects with prevalent or incident AF were identified from national registers as previously described, and cases with DNA were then matched in a 1:1 fashion to controls with DNA from the same cohort by sex, age (±1 year), and date of baseline exam (±1 year). Also, controls required a follow-up exceeding that of the corresponding AF case.

  Study phs001544

• DNA Double Strand Breaks in KMT2A-Rearranged AML patients

  DNA breakage at specific rearrangement-participating genes, which are more sensitive to a range of environmental and chemotherapeutic agents than other regions of the human genome, contributes to the generation of leukemia-causing rearrangements, and can be used as a predictor of susceptibility to cancer caused by gene rearrangements. As a direct proof-of-principle regarding the feasibility of employing fragile site breakage to identify and monitor high-risk populations to allow personalized treatments, genome-wide DNA break mapping/sequencing was used to determine whether preferential DNA breaks are generated at the major breakpoint regions of KMT2A in AML remission patients with previously diagnosed KMT2A rearrangement. We are submitting break mapping data from three patients with KMT2A rearrangements and three non-fusion patients, with and without etoposide treatments.

  Study phs002804

• Health Professionals Follow-Up Study

  Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) is a prospective cohort study of men designed to evaluate hypotheses about men’s health related to diet and lifestyle to the incidence of serious illnesses, such as cancer, heart disease, and other vascular diseases. It consisted of 51,529 U.S. male health professionals who were 40-75 years old at baseline in 1986 and completed a mailed six-page baseline questionnaire. Information on age, height and weight, ancestry, medications, disease history, physical activity, lifestyle factors, and diet were gathered, with follow-up questionnaires sent biennially to update information and record health outcomes with every four years to update their diet. This datafile includes responses to the 2016 questionnaire, which is available at: https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2471/2017/09/16L.pdf

  Study phs002460

• exploration of biomarkers discriminating squamous cell carcinoma from other lung cancers

  Targeted therapies based on the molecular and histological features of cancer types are becoming standard practice. The most effective regimen in lung cancers is different between squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (AD). Therefore a precise diagnosis is crucial, but this has been difficult, particularly for poorly differentiated SCC (PDSCC) and AD without a lepidic growth component (non-lepidic AD). Biomarkers enabling a precise diagnosis are therefore urgently needed. To achieve this goal, we initially performed CAGE (Cap Analysis of Gene Expression) to quantify promoter activities on 97 frozen tissues from surgically resected lung cancers (22 SCC and 75 AD). We furhter expanded the transcriptome profiling to cover additional 48 malignant neoplasm of bronchus and lung, including mesothelioma and metastatic lung cancers derived from other tissues.

  Study JGAS000488

• Whole Genome Sequencing of Liver Cancers

  Genomic alterations driving tumorigenesis result from the interaction of environmental exposures and endogeneous cellular processes. With a diversity of risk factors including viral infection, carcinogenic exposures and metabolic diseases, liver cancer is an ideal model to study these interactions. Whole genome sequencing of liver tumors identified 10 mutational signatures showing distinct relationships with environmental exposures, replication and transcription. Transcription-coupled damage was specifically associated with the liver-specific signature 16 and alcohol intake. Flood of indels were identified in very highly expressed hepato-specific genes, likely resulting from replication-transcription collisions. Reconstruction of sub-clonal architecture revealed mutational signature evolution during tumor development exemplified by the vanishing of aflatoxin-B1 signature in African migrants. These findings shed new light on the natural history of liver cancers

  Study EGAS00001002408

• UCSF Pediatric Bithalamic Glioma Genome Project

  Brain tumors are the most common solid tumors of childhood, and the genetic drivers and optimal therapeutic strategies for many of the different subtypes remain unknown. We performed targeted next-generation sequencing of approximately 500 cancer-associated genes on a cohort of 13 pediatric bithalamic diffuse gliomas, a lethal brain tumor of childhood for which the genetic basis is largely unknown. We identified that bithalamic diffuse gliomas harbor frequent mutations in the EGFR oncogene in the absence of accompanying gene amplification and only rare histone H3 mutation. These EGFR mutations were either small in-frame insertions within exon 20 (intracellular tyrosine kinase domain) or missense mutations within exon 7 (extracellular ligand-binding domain). Accompanying alterations included frequent TP53 mutation, CDK6 amplification or CDKN2C mutation, and BCOR and BCORL1 mutation or deletion.

  Study EGAS00001004033

• Whole-genome sequencing of bladder cancers of various stages and grades to search for driver mutations, chromosome-scale somatic changes, mutation signatures and clonal structures.

  This discovery set of tumours cancers with whole-genome sequence data comprised 14 bladder cancers, paired with peripheral blood, that had been collected from unrelated individuals presenting to the Urology Department, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield between June 2008 and September 2011. Four cancers were of low-grade papillary morphology (pTaG1-2), five were high grade invading the lamina propria (pT1G3, with two subsequently becoming muscle-invasive); and five were muscle-invasive (pT2-pT3). All tumours were sampled at transurethral resection or cystectomy and had not previously received any other therapy. The presence of a majority of cancer cells in the tumour specimens was confirmed by routine histological assessment. Genomic DNA was extracted from each tumour and paired blood sample using standard methods.

  Study EGAS00001000738