DR-149 Discovery and Characterization of Mutational Processes and Cancer Driver Mutations in Melanoma

The discovery of driver mutations and mutational processes in melanoma is complicated by high background mutation rates. With expanded melanoma cohorts, it is possible to expand discovery through examination of noncoding mutations and larger somatic events that result in oncogenesis specific to clinically and genomically defined melanoma subtypes. The overarching goal of this project is to examine cancer drivers and mutational processes (“signatures”) in melanoma using computational methodologies and compare these findings within melanoma subtypes. We will apply these frameworks to whole-genome sequencing data in the HMF database and examine signatures for associations with orthogonal somatic molecular and clinical data.

Eliezer Van Allen Dana-Farber Cancer Institute USA