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GERMLINE MUTATIONS

How the germline informs the somatic landscape

How somatic and germline mutations interact in cancer remains largely unexplored. A study of 17,152 patients with cancer suggests that the relative contribution of pathogenic germline mutations is governed by lineage and penetrance.

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Fig. 1: Dynamic model of carcinogenesis.

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Correspondence to Stephen J. Chanock.

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Chanock, S.J. How the germline informs the somatic landscape. Nat Genet 53, 1523–1525 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-021-00960-6

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