Nature Genetics · 31 July 2026 · From issue 15
Counting mutated gene copies, not just their presence, predicts cancer survival and spread patterns.
Nicola Calonaci, Eriseld Krasniqi et al., Gene mutant dosage is associated with prognosis and metastatic tropism in 60,000 clinical cancer samples, Nature Genetics.
Tumors do not just carry mutated genes. They can carry different numbers of mutated copies of the same gene, and this amount seems to matter. A new computer method calculated these copy counts using over 500,000 mutations from 60,000 cancer samples. It did this without needing extra normal tissue samples for comparison. Looking at more than 20,000 patients, the method found 46 markers tied to survival, spread of cancer, or where cancer spreads to. Thirteen of these markers were missed by simpler tests that only check if a gene is mutated or not.
The number of tumor-specific markers found linking gene copy amount to survival and cancer spread.
Data analysis of 60,000 samples only, not a clinical test yet.
Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 17 August 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (Nature Genetics). Read the source
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