Abstract: Disclosed are methods of treating a cancer in a subject using an ATR inhibitor wherein the cancer has been previously identified as a cancer having a loss of function of STAG2, SETD2, CDK12, ATRIP, REV3L, RAD17, CHTF8, FZR1, RAD51B, RAD51C, RAD51D, PALB2, RNASEH2A, or RNASEH2B. Also disclosed are methods of inducing cell death in an aberrant cancer cell having a loss of function of STAG2, SETD2, CDK12, ATRIP, REV3L, RAD17, CHTF8, FZR1, RAD51B, RAD51C, RAD51D, PALB2, RNASEH2A, or RNASEH2B by contacting the cell with an effective amount of an ATR inhibitor.

Abstract: Methods of treating cancers having a biallelic ATM loss of function mutation are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods of inducing cell death in cancer cells having a biallelic ATM loss of function mutation. The methods typically include administering to the subject in need thereof an effective amount of an ATR inhibitor or contacting the cancer cell having a biallelic ATM loss of function mutation with an ATR inhibitor. Also disclosed are methods of treating cancers amplified for CCNE1.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods of characterising a DNA sample obtained from a tumour to produce an interpreted profile of the tumour based on a combination of a range of tests on the tumour, the tests including a selection from: determining a catalogue of base substitution signatures which are present in the sample; determining a catalogue of rearrangement signatures which are present in the sample; determining a catalogue of insertion/deletion signatures which are present in the sample; determining the overall copy number profile in the sample and identifying putative driver mutations present in the sample.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of detecting mutational signatures in a DNA sample. The invention relates to method of detecting signatures arising from rearrangements in the DNA in the sample and determining the contributions of known rearrangement signatures to said rearrangements. In particular embodiments, the contributions are determined by computing the cosine similarity between the rearrangement mutations in said catalogue and the rearrangement mutational signatures. The rearrangement signatures are classified based on whether they are clustered or not, whether they are tandem duplications, deletions, inversions or translocations and on the basis of their size.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of detecting mutational signatures in a DNA sample. The invention relates to method of detecting signatures arising from rearrangements in the DNA in the sample and determining the contributions of known rearrangement signatures to said rearrangements. In particular embodiments, the contributions are determined by computing the cosine similarity between the rearrangement mutations in said catalogue and the rearrangement mutational signatures. The rearrangement signatures are classified based on whether they are clustered or not, whether they are tandem duplications, deletions, inversions or translocations and on the basis of their size.

Abstract: The invention relates to the classification of breast and ovarian tumours, and in particular to the use of particular rearrangement signatures to identify tumours as deficient in homologous recombination repair (HR-deficient). The inventors have identified particular chromosomal “hotspots” of recombination in breast and ovarian cancers which permit the homologous recombination repair status of a cancer to be assessed by determining the presence of recombination events within those specific hotspots, rather than by analysing the entire cancer genome for the presence of rearrangement signatures as a whole.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of characterising a DNA sample obtained from a tumour, the method including the steps of: determining the presence or absence of a plurality of base substitution signatures, rearrangement signatures and indel signatures in the sample and copy number profiles for the sample; generating, from the presence or absence of said plurality of base substitution signatures, rearrangement signatures and indel signatures and the copy number profile for the sample, a probabilistic score; and based on said probabilistic score, identifying whether said sample has a high or low likelihood of being homologous recombination (HR)-deficient. Identification of a tumour as HR-deficient may be used to inform treatment choices, for example treatment with a PARP inhibitor or platinum therapy or an anthracycline.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods of characterising a DNA sample obtained from a tumour to produce an interpreted profile of the tumour based on a combination of a range of tests on the tumour, the tests including a selection from: determining a catalogue of base substitution signatures which are present in the sample; determining a catalogue of rearrangement signatures which are present in the sample; determining a catalogue of insertion/deletion signatures which are present in the sample; determining the overall copy number profile in the sample and identifying putative driver mutations present in the sample.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the identification of a number of mutational signatures in patients with cancer. The mutational signatures include new base substitution signatures and rearrangement signatures. The signatures were identified by whole genome sequencing of 560 breast cancers and the application of new and existing mathematical methods to the base substitution and rearrangements found in those cancers.