Garvan Institute of Medical ResearchJul 2 2024 Using artificial intelligence, Garvan Institute researchers have found potential cancer drivers hidden in so-called 'junk' regions of DNA, opening up possibilities for a new approach to diagnosis and treatment.
"We had already identified a subset of CTCF binding sites that are 'persistent' – that is they act like anchors in the genome, present across different cell types," says Dr Khoury. "We hypothesized that if these anchors become faulty, it could disrupt the normal 3D organization of the genome and contribute to cancer."
Related Stories"Using our machine learning tool, we identified persistent CTCF binding sites in 12 different cancer types," says Dr Wenhan Chen, first author of the study. "Remarkably, we found that every cancer sample had at least one mutation in a persistent CTCF binding site." Towards a universal cancer treatment approach The findings could have broad implications for understanding and treating many types of cancer.