Faculty Collaboration Database

Sex differences in oncogenic mutational processes. Nat Commun 2020 Aug 28;11(1):4330

Date

08/30/2020

Pubmed ID

32859912

Pubmed Central ID

PMC7455744

DOI

10.1038/s41467-020-17359-2

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85079052881 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   52 Citations

Abstract

Sex differences have been observed in multiple facets of cancer epidemiology, treatment and biology, and in most cancers outside the sex organs. Efforts to link these clinical differences to specific molecular features have focused on somatic mutations within the coding regions of the genome. Here we report a pan-cancer analysis of sex differences in whole genomes of 1983 tumours of 28 subtypes as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium. We both confirm the results of exome studies, and also uncover previously undescribed sex differences. These include sex-biases in coding and non-coding cancer drivers, mutation prevalence and strikingly, in mutational signatures related to underlying mutational processes. These results underline the pervasiveness of molecular sex differences and strengthen the call for increased consideration of sex in molecular cancer research.

Author List

Li CH, Prokopec SD, Sun RX, Yousif F, Schmitz N, PCAWG Tumour Subtypes and Clinical Translation, Boutros PC, PCAWG Consortium

Authors

Akinyemi Ojesina MD, PhD Assistant Professor in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Janet Sue Rader MD Chair, Professor in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Chromosomal Instability
Exome
Female
Genome, Human
Genomic Instability
Humans
Logistic Models
Male
Mutation
Neoplasms
Oncogenes
Open Reading Frames
Sex Characteristics
beta Catenin