Science Advances: Edwin Wang/Cui Qinghua/Li Jian and other teams have discovered the genetic code for human cancer

According to the latest statistics, each person has a higher than one-third chance of developing cancer in their lifetime, i.e. at least one cancer patient per family.
In an effort to find the cause of cancer, scientists have tried to find more cancer-prone genes over the past few decades, but few (such as BRCA1 and BRCA2) have been identified, and they can only explain about 5 to 10 percent of cancer cases (mainly familial cancer cases).
In this way, textbooks have traditionally concluded that only 5% to 10% of cancer patients are caused by genetic factors, and therefore genetics is not the main cause of cancer formation;
five years ago, a team led by Professor Edwin Wang of the University of Calgary in Canada proposed the cancer genetic drive hypothesis based on the biological theory of cancer systems: that genetic factors are the main drivers of cancer occurrence and metastasis.
November 27, 2020, Edwin Wang of the University of Calgary, Cui Qinghua of Peking University, and Li Strong of Shenzhen University published an online newsletter entitled "Germline genomic patterns are associated with cancer risk, Oncogenic pathways, and clinical outcomes" research paper, which found that the human cancer genetic code (genomic patterns, DNA fingerprints) provides the latest evidence for the cancer genetic drive hypothesis, a finding that upends traditional perceptions of cancer genetics.
many differences in information about an individual's genome, and these differences in germ DNA are genetically caused.
previous cancer studies have focused on finding cancer susceptible genes, but little has been done.
the team used a new perspective, using a non-negative matrix decomposition algorithm (NMF) to analyze the base (ATCG) sequences of the embryo genomes of about 10,000 cancer patients and found seven embryo dna fingerprints (named CGGP_A, _B, _C _D, _E, _F and _G, respectively).
each DNA fingerprint represents a special combination of bases.
differences in the proportions of the seven DNA fingerprints in each individual are actually a quantitative description of the genetic differences in the individual embryo line.
this method establishes a relationship between DNA fingerprints and cancer, like a set of "text clouds" that distill the thrust of an article.
each person's DNA fingerprints and their proportions are innate and will not change through life.
for individuals, the proportion of DNA fingerprints of each embryo can be calculated by means of genome sequencing information.
one of these DNA fingerprints is a "carcinogenic-DNA fingerprint" (CGGP_G).
compared to more than 10,000 non-cancer patients, the proportion of cancer patients with "carcinogenic-DNA fingerprints" was dozens or even hundreds of times higher than those of non-cancer patients (different cancer types).
significant positive correlation between the proportion of "carcinogenic-DNA fingerprints" and cancer risk, i.e. the higher the proportion of DNA fingerprints in an individual, the higher the risk of cancer.
the proportion of DNA fingerprints was particularly significant in patients with cancer types such as breast and brain cancer.
was also more pronounced in most patients with lung and skin cancers (cancers associated with smoking and UV exposure, respectively).
correspondingly, another DNA fingerprint is an "anti-cancer-DNA fingerprint" (CGGP_C).
we found that the higher the proportion of "anti-cancer-DNA fingerprints", the lower the probability of cancer.
other DNA fingerprint is an "external sensitivity-DNA fingerprint" (CGGP_E).
dna fingerprints are present in some populations.
people who carry "external sensitivity-DNA fingerprints" are significantly more likely to develop cancer if they have an external cause such as smoking.
is known to be related to the occurrence of at least 17 types of cancer, including lung cancer.
and our study shows that people who carry "external sensitivity-DNA fingerprints" are sensitive to smoking.
this result also explains why 85 percent of smokers do not have lung cancer for life (people without "external sensitivity-DNA fingerprints" don't get lung cancer even if they smoke).
, the authors infer that people who carry "external sensitivity-DNA fingerprints" are significantly less likely to develop cancer if they do not smoke or quit smoking.
authors suggest that "external sensitivity-DNA fingerprinting" may also be a good way to attest to the relationship between other exo-cancer risk environmental factors/bad habits and cancer.
further analysis of the interaction of relevant epidemiological data and cancer DNA fingerprints can play a key role in guiding people at high risk of cancer to reduce cancer occurrence by circumventing certain environmental factors/lifestyle habits.
the study suggests that personalized guidance (precision prevention) on an individual's lifestyle/environment based on their cancer DNA fingerprint information can reduce the risk of cancer and thus play a preventive role.
, such as people carrying "external sensitivity-DNA fingerprints," avoiding smoking can reduce their risk of cancer.
For people with a small percentage of "carcinogenic DNA fingerprints" or a large proportion of "cancer-causing DNA fingerprints," lifestyle and the environment have less impact on their cancer risk and are less likely to need to be protected.
a clustering analysis of the embryonic genome using these seven cancer DNA fingerprints found that these DNA fingerprints were able to significantly sub-region cancer patients with recurrence metastasis and non-recurrence metastasis.
this study shows that cancer recurrence metastasis can be well predicted by dna fingerprints of the cancer embryo.
further evidence that genetic differences in the embryo line, such as the dna fingerprint of the embryo, can affect the development of cancer and the recurrence of metastasis.
these results prove that genetics plays a decisive role in the development and metastasis of cancer.
is not only the risk of cancer, but prognostics such as cancer recurrence metastasis are also associated with germ DNA (i.e. DNA fingerprints), so DNA fingerprints can be used as a sign of cancer genetic signs (cancer genetic code).
these results support the team's genetically driven hypothesis of cancer, which was proposed five years ago.
the discovery of DNA fingerprints on cancer embryos provides an early detection of cancer risk and facilitates early detection, intervention and treatment of cancer.
cancer (usually patients without tumor metastasis) generally cures more than 90% of patients through surgery.
traditional genetic model focuses on the inheritance of individual or several mutant genes, while DNA fingerprint genetic patterns are calculated using a combination of the parents' genomes or artificial intelligence to predict whether a certain cancer DNA fingerprint is formed.
combination of both parents can enhance or dilute certain DNA fingerprints for cancer, which can also be quantified by calculation, although not intuitive compared to single-gene genetic patterns.
, for example, through genome sequence analysis, can predict the probability of cancer DNA fingerprinting after marriage between men and women, providing guidance for family planning.
for high-risk combinations, consider having a third-party sperm or egg.
"DNA fingerprint genetic model" can be extended to other complexity or diseases (such as polygene-controlled symptoms or diseases), such as IQ, height, mental genetic disorders, etc.
as the cost of sequencing technology decreases (currently $600 for a person's whole genome sequencing, which could be as low as $200 in a few years), DNA fingerprinting is expected to be more widely used as a genetic analysis method.
。