Global genomics project unravels cancer’s complexity at unprecedented scale

Cieslik, Marcin; Chinnaiyan, Arul M.

doi:10.1038/d41586-020-00213-2

NEWS AND VIEWS
05 February 2020

Global genomics project unravels cancer’s complexity at unprecedented scale

A massive international effort has yielded multifaceted studies of more than 2,600 tumours from 38 tissues, generating a wealth of insights into the genetic basis of cancer.

Marcin Cieslik ⁰ &
Arul M. Chinnaiyan ¹

Marcin Cieslik
1. Marcin Cieslik is in the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA, and in the Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan.
View author publications

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Arul M. Chinnaiyan
1. Arul M. Chinnaiyan is in the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA, and at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
View author publications

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Access through your institution

Buy or subscribe

Comprehensive genomic characterization of tumours became a major goal of cancer researchers as soon as the first human genome had been sequenced in 2001. Since then, advances in sequencing technology and analytical tools have allowed this research field to flourish. In six papers¹^–⁶ in this issue of Nature, the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium presents the most comprehensive and ambitious meta-analysis of cancer genomes so far. Unlike previous efforts that focused largely on protein-coding regions of the cancer genome, PCAWG analyses whole genomes. Each article scrutinizes an important aspect of cancer genetics — together, their findings will be key to understanding the full genetic complexity of cancer.

Access options

Access through your institution

Buy article

Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.

$32.00

Buy

All prices are NET prices.

Nature 578, 39-40 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00213-2

References

ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Consortium. Nature 578, 82–93 (2020).
Article Google Scholar
Rheinbay, E. et al. Nature 578, 102–111 (2020).
Article Google Scholar
Alexandrov, L. B. et al. Nature 578, 94–101 (2020).
Article Google Scholar
Li, Y. et al. Nature 578, 112–121 (2020).
Article Google Scholar
Gerstung, M. et al. Nature 578, 122–128 (2020).
Article Google Scholar
PCAWG Transcriptome Core Group et al. Nature 578, 129–136 (2020).
Article Google Scholar
Priestley, P. et al. Nature 575, 210–216 (2019).
PubMed Article Google Scholar
Nowell, P. C. Science 194, 23–28 (1976).
PubMed Article Google Scholar
Fearon, E. R. & Vogelstein, B. Cell 61, 759–767 (1990).
PubMed Article Google Scholar
Robinson, D. R. et al. Nature 548, 297–303 (2017).
PubMed Article Google Scholar