Cited by 149Esophageal Cancer Research and TreatmentCancer Genomics and DiagnosticsGenomic variations and chromosomal abnormalities

Genomic copy number predicts esophageal cancer years before transformation

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Killcoyne, Sarah, Gregson, Eleanor, Wedge, David C., Woodcock, Dan J., Eldridge, Matthew D., de la Rue, Rachel, Miremadi, Ahmad, Abbas, Sujath +6 more·2020·Nature Medicine

Published version of a preprint

Abstract

Recent studies show that aneuploidy and driver gene mutations precede cancer diagnosis by many years 1-4. We assess whether these genomic signals can be used for early detection and pre-emptive cancer treatment using the neoplastic precursor lesion Barrett's esophagus as an exemplar 5. Shallow whole-genome sequencing of 777 biopsies, sampled from 88 patients in Barrett's esophagus surveillance over a period of up to 15 years, shows that genomic signals can distinguish progressive from stable disease even 10 years before histopathological transformation. These findings are validated on two independent cohorts of 76 and 248 patients. These methods are low-cost and applicable to standard clinical biopsy samples. Compared with current management guidelines based on histopathology and clinical presentation, genomic classification enables earlier treatment for high-risk patients as well as reduction of unnecessary treatment and monitoring for patients who are unlikely to develop cancer.

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  • In MGUS and SMM, MAFB translocations associate with high-risk genomic features but do not always predict progression.

    “In the context of MGUS and SMM, these translocations still associate with high-risk genomic features,59,97,98 but strangely do not always predict progression as one might expect.9,90,99”

    From Evolution of Multiple Myeloma from a Genomic Perspective (2026) · cites this paper as [99]

    The Abstract and Methods > Patient cohorts (page numbers unavailable) address copy-number instability and progression in Barrett’s esophagus, not MGUS or SMM. Searches for MAFB translocations, MGUS, and smoldering multiple myeloma found no passage addressing whether those translocations predict progression. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [7]Siegel RL Miller KD Jemal A Cancer statistics CA Cancer J Clin 2016 66 7 30 26742998

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Authors
Killcoyne, S., Gregson, E., Wedge, D. C., Woodcock, D. J., Eldridge, M. D., de la Rue, R., Miremadi, A., Abbas, S., Blasko, A., Kosmidou, C., Januszewicz, W., Jenkins, A. V., Gerstung, M., & Fitzgerald, R. C.
Affiliations
  • European Bioinformatics Institute (GB)
  • University of Cambridge (GB)
  • University of Manchester (GB)
  • University of Oxford (GB)
  • Cancer Research UK (GB)
  • Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
Corresponding author
  • Gerstung, Moritz
  • Fitzgerald, Rebecca C.
Venue
Nature Medicine
Published
2020-09-07
Volume
26
Issue
11
Pages
1726-1732
ISSN
  • 1078-8956 (ISSN-L)
  • 1546-170X
OpenAlex
W3083497411
Cited by
149
References
52
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 3
FWCI
18.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
United European Gastroenterology Research Prize, RG76026
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Esophageal Cancer Research and Treatment
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genomic variations and chromosomal abnormalities
Keywords
Barrett's esophagus, esophageal adenocarcinoma, cancer transformation, copy number alterations, early cancer detection, aneuploidy, genomic classification, cancer surveillance, preemptive therapy
MeSH terms
Whole Genome Sequencing, Aged, Aneuploidy, Barrett Esophagus, Biopsy, Esophageal Neoplasms, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Precancerous Conditions, Genome, Human, Genomics, DNA Copy Number Variations

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