Comparative analysis of cancer driver genes between human and six non‐human primates (LB182)

Abstract

Cancer incidences among non‐human primates compared to humans are very low, however the causative factors are unknown. The difference could be derived from a combination of immunity, environmental factors, longer life expectancy in humans, and genetic variation. Detailed genome sequences for human and six other non‐human primates (Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo abelii, Callithrix jacchus, Macaca mulatta, and Otolemur garnettii) make it possible to assess whether genetic differences contribute to cancer susceptibility. We obtained a list of high‐confidence driver genes common to tumors from twelve different cancer types and examined a subset of these across non‐human primate orthologs. Empirical Bayes methods were used to test for adaptive evolution by examining the rate of non‐synonymous substitutions, and a number of genes contained amino acid sites with evidence for positive selection along the human lineage. We suggest that some of the driver genes in human common to various cancer types have a higher variability compared to non‐human primates, and that further examination of these genes is warranted.Grant Funding Source: HG00668702