Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States. Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is a hereditary syndrome that raises the risk of developing CRC, with total colectomy as the only effective prevention. Even though FAP is rare (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFamilial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is a genetic disease causing hundreds of premalignant polyps in affected persons and is an ideal model to study transitions of early precancer states to colorectal cancer (CRC). We performed deep multiomic profiling of 93 samples, including normal mucosa, benign polyps and dysplastic polyps, from six persons with FAP. Transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic and lipidomic analyses revealed a dynamic choreography of thousands of molecular and cellular events that occur during precancerous transitions toward cancer formation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough three-dimensional (3D) genome architecture is crucial for gene regulation, its role in disease remains elusive. We traced the evolution and malignant transformation of colorectal cancer (CRC) by generating high-resolution chromatin conformation maps of 33 colon samples spanning different stages of early neoplastic growth in persons with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Our analysis revealed a substantial progressive loss of genome-wide cis-regulatory connectivity at early malignancy stages, correlating with nonlinear gene regulation effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo chart cell composition and cell state changes that occur during the transformation of healthy colon to precancerous adenomas to colorectal cancer (CRC), we generated single-cell chromatin accessibility profiles and single-cell transcriptomes from 1,000 to 10,000 cells per sample for 48 polyps, 27 normal tissues and 6 CRCs collected from patients with or without germline APC mutations. A large fraction of polyp and CRC cells exhibit a stem-like phenotype, and we define a continuum of epigenetic and transcriptional changes occurring in these stem-like cells as they progress from homeostasis to CRC. Advanced polyps contain increasing numbers of stem-like cells, regulatory T cells and a subtype of pre-cancer-associated fibroblasts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWomen who test positive for an inherited pathogenic/likely pathogenic gene variant in , and are at an increased risk of developing certain types of cancer-specifically breast (all) and epithelial ovarian cancer (only ). Women receive broad cancer risk figures that are not personalised (e.g.
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