A normal DNA repair process can become a major source of mutations in cancer

The mechanism unveiled triggers a mutation fog, causing hundreds of mutations in each tumor, which spread through the genome of lung, head-and-neck and breast cancers. Researchers have identified the antiviral APOBEC3A enzyme as the major cause of this new type of hypermutation. Published in Nature Genetics, the study shows how the mutation fog process generates many oncogenic ''cancer driver'' mutations, thus accelerating tumour development.

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