Predicting resistance to chemotherapy using chromosomal instability signatures Joe Sneath Thompson1,2,*, Laura Madrid2,*, Barbara Hernando1,*, Carolin M. Sauer3, Maria Vias3, Maria Escobar-Rey1,2, Wing-Kit Leung2,3, Diego Garcia-Lopez2, Jamie Huckstep3, Magdalena Sekowska3, Karen Hosking4,5, Mercedes Jimenez-Linan5,6, Marika A. V. Reinius3,5,6, Abhipsa Roy2, Omar Abdulle2, Justina Pangonyte3, Harry Dobson2, Amy Cullen2,3, Dilrini De Silva2, David Gómez-Sánchez1,7, Marina Torres1, Ángel Fernández-Sanromán1, Deborah Sanders3, Filipe Correia Martins3,5,6, Ionut-Gabriel Funingana3,4,5, Giovanni Codacci-Pisanelli3,4,8, Miguel Quintela-Fandino1, Florian Markowetz2,3,4, Jason Yip2, James D. Brenton2,3,4,5,6, Anna M. Piskorz#,2,3, Geoff Macintyre#,1,2 1 Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), Madrid, Spain 2 Tailor Bio Ltd, Cambridge, UK 3 Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK 4 Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK 5 Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK 6 Cancer Research UK Major Centre - Cambridge, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK 7 H12O-CNIO Lung Cancer Clinical Research Unit, Health Research Institute Hospital 12 de Octubre (imas12), Madrid, Spain 8 University of Rome "la Sapienza", Rome, Italy
Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) analysis was performed on three distinct tumor biopsies collected at different time points, along with their matched germline non-tumor sample, from the same LUAD patient. DNA was extracted using the DNeasy Blood and Tissue Kit (Qiagen, Germantown, MD) according to the manufacturer’s instructions and quantified using the Qubit Fluorometer assay (Life Technologies, Carlsbad, CA). To minimize FFPE-related sequencing artifacts (e.g., C:G > T:A transitions), the extracted DNA was treated with the DNA repair enzyme Uracil-DNA-Glycosylase (UDG) following the manufacturer’s protocol (New England Biolabs, Ipswich, MA). Whole-exome capture was performed with the Twist Human Core Exome + RefSeq + Mito-Panel kit (Twist Bioscience), in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines. Sequencing generated paired-end 100-bp reads on the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform. The resulting reads were aligned to the reference human genome (GRCh38) using the Burrows-Wheeler Aligner (BWA, v0.7.12).
To overcome the challenges of low DNA yields, degraded DNA by formalin fixation and diluted signal of genomic aberrations by non-carcinoma components in the heterogeneous FFPE samples, we isolated pure carcinoma and stromal cells using the DEPArray™ NxT system, a microchip-based digital sorter that allows isolation of pure, homogeneous subpopulations of cells from FFPE samples. We isolated pure carcinoma and stromal cell populations from 12 FFPE tissues, including tissues from 9 primary and metastatic breast cancer and 3 primary ovarian high-grade serous carcinomas. This was followed by downstream shallow whole genome sequencing (WGS) for copy number landscape profiling for 10 samples. Seven out of 10 samples (even some with low tumour content or of old age) produced good quality genomic data, detecting sCNA in all carcinoma population samples but not in the stromal populations.
In this study, we aimed to understand how the 3D genome changes during breast cancer development and progression, in situ. Towards this goal, we collected cells from patient biopsies and performed Hi-C on four types of biopsies representing different stages of disease progression: healthy mammary tissue, primary breast tumours, liver metastasis and malignant pleural effusions. We survey the changes in the 3D genomes at the level of structural variation, compartments and TADs, as well as ERα associated distal interactions.
Despite advances in multimodal treatment, survival for patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has improved only modestly. The recent advent of tumor-informed assays capable of detecting circulating cell-free tumor DNA (ctDNA) has enabled early detection of molecular residual disease (MRD) and recurrence following curative therapy. We assessed ctDNA in plasma from 76 and saliva from 54 HNSCC patients, respectively, who received primary curative-intent surgery.
