First-of-its-kind analysis reveals the structural variant landscape driving pediatric cancer development

The first and largest dataset of genomic structure variations specific to childhood cancers was published today by scientists from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the National Cancer Institute. The researchers assembled data cohorts from multiple childhood cancer genomic initiatives and conducted a comprehensive analysis of structural variants across pediatric cancers, which comprise 60% of the mutations that drive childhood malignancies. By comparing the pediatric landscapes to adult cancers, the researchers identified which mutational processes drive these structural changes, and their associated genomic features, specific to childhood disease. The findings are published in Cancer Cell.