Identification and validation of a previously missed mutational signature in colorectal cancer

Mutational signature analysis has enhanced our understanding of mutagenic processes. In a recent study, we analyzed 802 microsatellite-stable colorectal cancers (CRC) and identified a de novo signature, SBS_D, which was decomposed into SBS18. Here, we re-evaluate this decomposition and provide evidence that SBS_D represents a distinct mutational process from SBS18. Through an analysis of 2,616 CRCs across three independent cohorts, we demonstrate that SBS_D is consistently present, suggesting this signature may have been previously overlooked. We illustrate that the pattern of SBS_D better aligns with signatures associated with deficiencies in DNA repair, despite evidence that SBS_D is not driven by canonical defects in these DNA repair pathways. Overall, this study identifies a previously unrecognized mutational signature in DNA repair-proficient CRC and proposes that its etiology may be linked to DNA repair infidelity emerging late in tumor development. SBS_D has been submitted to the COSMIC database and provisionally designated as SBS111.