Discovery and Features of an Alkylating Signature in Colorectal Cancer
Published in Cancer Discovery, 2021
Recommended citation: Gurjao, C. et al. Discovery and Features of an Alkylating Signature in Colorectal Cancer. Cancer Discov. (2021) doi:10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-1656. http://carinogurjao.github.io/files/Cancer_Discover_2021.pdf
Several risk factors have been established for colorectal cancer, yet their direct mutagenic effects in patients’ tumors remain to be elucidated. Here, we leveraged whole-exome sequencing data from 900 colorectal cancer cases that had occurred in three U.S.-wide prospective studies with extensive dietary and lifestyle information. We found an alkylating signature that was previously undescribed in colorectal cancer and then showed the existence of a similar muta- tional process in normal colonic crypts. This alkylating signature is associated with high intakes of processed and unprocessed red meat prior to diagnosis. In addition, this signature was more abundant in the distal colorectum, predicted to target cancer driver mutations KRAS p.G12D, KRAS p.G13D, and PIK3CA p.E545K, and associated with poor survival. Together, these results link for the first time a colorectal mutational signature to a component of diet and further implicate the role of red meat in colorectal cancer initiation and progression.