title: Mutational signatures: the patterns of somatic mutations hidden in cancer genomes.
abstract: All cancers originate from a single cell that starts to behave abnormally due to the acquired somatic mutations in its genome. Until recently, the knowledge of the mutational processes that cause these somatic mutations has been very limited. Recent advances in sequencing technologies and the development of novel mathematical approaches have allowed deciphering the patterns of somatic mutations caused by different mutational processes. Here, we summarize our current understanding of mutational patterns and mutational signatures in light of both the somatic cell paradigm of cancer research and the recent developments in the field of cancer genomics.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Genome Project, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, United Kingdom. Electronic address: la2@sanger.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Ludmil B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Alexandrov
authors.affiliation: Cancer Genome Project, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Stratton
mesh_terms: D015894:Genome, Human; D023281:Genomics; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53