Published in

Springer Nature [academic journals on nature.com], Blood Cancer Journal, 11(11), 2021

DOI: 10.1038/s41408-021-00570-9

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Cancer drivers and clonal dynamics in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia subtypes

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

AbstractTo obtain a comprehensive picture of composite genetic driver events and clonal dynamics in subtypes of paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) we analysed tumour-normal whole genome sequencing and expression data from 361 newly diagnosed patients. We report the identification of both structural drivers, as well as recurrent non-coding variation in promoters. Additionally we found the transcriptional profile of histone gene cluster 1 and CTCF altered tumours shared hallmarks of hyperdiploid ALL suggesting a ‘hyperdiploid like’ subtype. ALL subtypes are driven by distinct mutational processes with AID mutagenesis being confined to ETV6-RUNX1 tumours. Subclonality is a ubiquitous feature of ALL, consistent with Darwinian evolution driving selection and expansion of tumours. Driver mutations in B-cell developmental genes (IKZF1, PAX5, ZEB2) tend to be clonal and RAS/RTK mutations subclonal. In addition to identifying new avenues for therapeutic exploitation, this analysis highlights that targeted therapies should take into account composite mutational profile and clonality.