Chemotherapy's Genomic Traces in Childhood Cancer Unveiled
A study led by The Hospital for Sick Children has discovered that chemotherapy leaves distinct genomic signatures in childhood cancer cells within 18 months of treatment. These findings could help clinicians identify treatment resistance earlier and improve long-term patient outcomes.
Why it matters
Understanding how chemotherapy alters tumor DNA could lead to more precise, personalized cancer treatments and reduce the risk of relapse.
Nearly half of childhood tumours treated with common types of chemotherapy showed detectable DNA changes linked to treatment within 18 months, according to a new international study led by The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). Researchers say these changes could eventually help clinicians spot treatment resistance earlier, before cancer returns or spreads, opening the door to a more precise use of chemotherapy.
Published in Nature , researchers analyzed more than 600 tumours from 544 patients in Canada, Australia and the United States. By combining whole genome sequencing with detailed medical records and advanced computational methods developed at SickKids, the team found distinct genomic signatures of DNA changes left behind by different chemotherapies. Some of these patterns appeared as early as 91 days after treatment began.
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