Characterization of tumor suppressors and oncogenes evaluated from TCGA cancers.

Abstract

Mutations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes can significantly impact cellular function during cancer development. A comprehensive analysis of their mutation patterns and significant gene ontology terms can provide insights into cancer emergence and suggest potential targets for drug development. This study analyzes twelve cancer subtypes by focusing on significant genetic and molecular factors. Two common genetic mutations associated with cancer are single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and copy number alterations (CNAs). Oncogenes, derived from mutated proto-oncogenes, disrupt normal cell functions and promote cancer, while tumor suppressor genes, often inactivated by mutations, regulate cell processes like proliferation and DNA damage response. This study analyzed datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), which provides extensive genomic data across various cancers. In our analysis results, many genes with significant p-values based on Kaplan Meier gene expression data were identified in eight cancers (BRCA, BLCA, HNSC, KIRC, LUAD, KIRP, LUSC, STAD). Moreover, STAD is the only cancer for genes with both significant p-values and functional terms reported. Interestingly, we found that LIHC was the cancer reported with only one CNA mutated gene and its survival plot p-value being significant. Additionally, KICH has no reported significant genes at all. Our study proposed the relationship between tumor suppressor and oncogenes and shed light on cancer tumorigenesis due to genetic mutations.