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Database: mSignatureDB

Cancer is a genetic disease arising from sequence changes in DNA. These somatic mutations can be caused by endogenous and exogenous factors such as deficiency of DNA repair, activity of DNA cytidine deaminases (APOBECs), and mutagenic exposures (e.g., tobacco, ultraviolet light and toxic chemicals). The catalogue of somatic mutations from a cancer genome bears the signatures of the mutational processes that have occurred during tumor development, which are the cumulative effects of DNA damage and repair processes. Alexandrov et al., researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have analyzed somatic mutation catalogs of 7,042 tumors from 30 different cancer types and revealed 21 signatures of mutational processes using the algorithm of WTSI Mutational Signature Framework, providing a better understanding of cancer biology by linking signatures to endogenous processes and exogenous mutagens as mentioned above.

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