Researchers led by the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, have found that reactivation of ancient mobile DNA elements may drive some of the most aggressive forms of lung cancer.
Analysing whole-genome data from lung adenocarcinoma samples, the team identified a subgroup of tumours with high activity of LINE-1 elements – fragments of DNA that can move within the genome and are normally inactive in healthy cells.
The research is published in Nature.
Inside Precision Medicine has more.