Novel potential causes of cancer revealed by NHS whole-genome study

A recent study by researchers from the University of Cambridge (UK) has analyzed anonymised DNA data provided by the 100,000 Genomes Project, a UK-wide project to sequence the whole genomes of patients affected by cancer and rare diseases. The aim was to analyze mutational signatures in 12,000 tumors from NHS patients and compare the data to other international genetic cancer projects. The findings confirmed thousands of mutational signatures that are already known and revealed 58 new patterns, suggesting that there are other causes of cancer that are not fully understood. In addition to this work, the researchers created a computer...