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Alterations in transcriptional networks in cancer: the role of noncoding somatic driver mutations

Ashley S Doane1, Olivier Elemento1

  • 1Caryl and Israel Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, United States.

Current Opinion in Genetics & Development
|May 24, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Cancer cells often have altered gene expression due to mutations. This review focuses on noncoding somatic mutations, their effects on gene regulation, and challenges in identifying these cancer drivers.

Area of Science:

  • Genomics
  • Cancer Biology
  • Epigenetics

Background:

  • Aberrant gene expression is a hallmark of cancer.
  • Somatic mutations in transcription factors and chromatin regulators are well-studied cancer drivers.
  • However, noncoding somatic mutations impacting transcriptional control are less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the current understanding of somatic variants in noncoding cancer genomes.
  • To discuss their impact on chromatin architecture and transcriptional networks.
  • To highlight challenges and insights in noncoding driver discovery.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of recent studies on noncoding cancer genome variants.
  • Analysis of impacts on chromatin and gene expression.
  • Discussion of methodologies for driver discovery.

Main Results:

  • Noncoding somatic variants can significantly alter cancer cell phenotype.
  • These variants affect chromatin architecture and transcriptional networks.
  • Identifying and characterizing noncoding drivers remains a challenge.

Conclusions:

  • Noncoding somatic mutations are crucial, yet understudied, contributors to cancer.
  • Further research is needed to fully elucidate their role and therapeutic potential.
  • Advances in genomic analysis are improving noncoding driver discovery.

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