DR-078 Studying the biology and clonal evolution of the cancer epigenome by integrating somatic alterations with epigenetic maps

We aim to stratify cancer types by the degree of intratumour heterogeneity demonstrated both between metastases (when the cancer spreads) and primary disease (observed at the initial cancer diagnosis) as well as within the metastases or primary tumors themselves. To do this we will use the same techniques to analyse the metastatic data from the Hartwig Medical Foundation as we have previously used in the TRACERx (Tracking cancer evolution through therapy) prospective clinical trial (ID: NCT01888601) to contrast and compare the mutation and chromosomal alteration heterogeneity present in the data held by Hartwig Medical Foundation with data from primary tumors in our studies. By comparing and contrasting these patterns of heterogeneity across cancer types we will determine whether cancers that metastasise have similar or different patterns of intratumor heterogeneity to those that do not. These patterns may give us insight that helps identify which patients are likely to suffer from metastasis.

Charles Swanton The Francis Crick Institute United Kingdom