Aging2Cancer: an integrated resource for linking aging to tumor multi-omics data

Area of Science:

• Biomedical research
• Genomics
• Cancer biology

Background:

• Aging and cancer development involve shared regulatory processes affecting the genome, epigenome, transcriptome, and immune system.
• Understanding the multiomics basis of aging-cancer links is crucial but challenging for researchers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a comprehensive resource for investigating the associations between aging and cancer across multiple omics levels.
• To facilitate the exploration of gene-level relationships between aging and cancer using integrated data.

Main Methods:

• Collected high-throughput omics data from 57 human tumors and 20 normal tissues (23,125 samples with age information).
• Developed six analytical modules: genomic, gene expression, DNA methylation, aging/cancer hallmarks, immune landscape, and survival analysis.
• Performed correlation and differential analyses on multiomic signatures related to aging.

Main Results:

• Launched Aging2Cancer (http://210.37.77.200:8080/Aging2Cancer/index.jsp), a database and analysis platform.
• The platform enables users to search and visualize gene-specific aging-cancer associations across various omics data.
• Identified multiomic signatures linking aging and cancer at the gene level.

Conclusions:

• Aging2Cancer serves as a valuable resource for discovering novel biomarkers.
• The platform bridges the gap in understanding the complex relationship between aging and cancer.
• Facilitates further research into aging-cancer connections and biomarker identification.