News Genome analysis identifies mutations in pediatric cancers
Genome analysis identifies mutations in pediatric cancers
April 13, 2018
Above: Allele-specific expression of WT1 and JAK2. From: Xiaotu Ma, Yu Liu, Yanling Liu, Ludmil B. Alexandrov, Michael N. Edmonson et al. Pan-cancer genome and transcriptome analyses of 1,699 paediatric leukaemias and solid tumours. Nature, Feb 28, 2018.
A large-scale genetic analysis of pediatric cancers identified several notable trends in mutations and allele expression, according to a research letter published in Nature.
The authors, including Elizabeth Perlman, MD, professor of Pathology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said the findings emphasize the genetic differences between pediatric and adult cancers and provide a foundation for further investigation. Perlman is also a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, head of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, director of a laboratory at Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, and Arthur C. King Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
While studies like these, called pan-cancer analyses, have previously been performed for adult cancers, the current project is the first time investigators have examined a large pool of samples from pediatric patients.
