In a full-scale study, scientists analyzed the genomes of cancer cells from more than 12,000 patients.
Cancer cells can contain thousands of differentand unusual mutations, but only a few are known to actually contribute to tumor development. The groundbreaking 2020 study was the first in which scientists began to fully catalog these mutational signatures. However, the new work expands on previous findings by providing the most complete picture yet of which mutations cause the most cancers in humans.
Cataloging these mutational fingerprintsfingers" allows researchers to focus on specific lifestyle or environmental factors that may cause cancer. For example, previous research has shown that a certain mutation in melanoma may be associated with exposure to ultraviolet light.
In a new study, scientists confirmed51 mutational signatures reported in previous studies and 58 completely new ones were discovered. The reasons for most are still unknown. This means that there are many more factors that can cause cancer that are still unknown to science, the authors of the work note.
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