Detection of Clonal Hematopoiesis Driven by Structural Variants

Using Network data to uncover early warning signs of blood cancers

As we age, some of our healthy blood stem cells can develop DNA mutations that give them the ability to more rapidly divide and produce identical “clones” of themselves. This condition, known as clonal hematopoiesis (CH), isn’t cancer itself, but it significantly increases the risk of conditions like leukemia, heart disease and diabetes.

With new funding from the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network, a team of BC-based researchers led by Dr. Aly Karsan (BC Cancer) will focus on better understanding CH and its relationship with leukemia. Using advanced genomic analysis on blood samples from the MOHCCN Gold Cohort, they will look to see if chromosomal translocations, which are large DNA rearrangements that are commonly seen in blood cancers, may also be indicators of CH.

By determining if this relationship exists, the team hopes to show that translocations associated with leukemia can be found long before cancer develops, opening the door to earlier interventions.

“We suspect that these rearrangements also occur in healthy people and may contribute to clonal hematopoiesis,” says Dr. Karsan. “By detecting them early, we hope to better understand how cancers start — and ultimately prevent them from ever developing.”

New discoveries powered by national collaborations

The team is one of five initial groups that will access combined data generated through the Network’s Gold Cohort to accelerate precision oncology research, after being named as one of the recipients of the Data Sharing and Use Pilot Awards. As part of the project, the team will access data generated in BC, Ontario and Quebec, using it to advance research while also testing the Network’s current data sharing and access mechanisms.

These projects will help set the stage for more generalized data sharing across the Network, enabling more pan-Canadian collaborations and data-driven discoveries that can transform cancer research and care in Canada.

“Funding organizations don’t typically support research at this scale,” says Dr. Karsan. “The MOHCCN is unique because it provides population-level data from diverse cancer patients across Canada, which is allowing us to ask fundamental questions about how blood cancers begin and how we can stop them before they start.”