Cancer genomics: Human metastases under scrutiny.

Abstract

Sequences of the DNA and RNA of 500 human cancers that have spread from their primary site in the body take us a step closer to the convergence of basic science and patient benefit. See Article p.297 Cancer cells often gain new mutations as they spread through the body from the primary tumour site and develop into metastatic tumours. Arul Chinnaiyan and colleagues report clinical whole exome and transcriptome sequencing of 500 adult patients with metastatic solid tumours of diverse lineages and biopsy sites, as part of the Michigan Oncology Sequencing (MI-ONCOSEQ) Program. The authors characterize the landscape of genomic alterations across metastatic cancers, including recurrent somatic alterations in TP53, CDKN2A, PTEN, PIK3CA and RB1. They also used clinical RNA sequencing to characterize gene fusions, transcriptional signatures and the immune microenvironment of metastatic cancer. A timely analysis of the genomic and molecular profiles of metastatic tumours could help to tailor anticancer therapies to patients more precisely than can profiling only primary tumours.