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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

How DNA ‘hotspots’ snarl the search for cancer genes

Clusters of mutations can mislead researchers.
False-colour scanning electron micrograph of a breast cancer cell

A cancer cell. Not all mutation-riddled stretches of tumour DNA are culprits for a patient’s cancer, according to a new analysis. Credit: Dennis Kunkel Microscopy/SPL

Mutation-prone regions in the human genome can foil scientists’ attempts to find DNA sequences responsible for cancer, according to an analysis of genome sequences from more than 1,600 tissue samples.

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Nature 571, 9 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-02011-x

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