In a virtually unprecedented event, 21 open-access research papers arising from the monumental efforts of the ICGC/TCGA consortium on whole genome sequencing and integrative analysis of cancer have been published simultaneously online on February 5, 2020, in the following journals published by Nature: Nature Communications (8), Nature (6), Nature Genetics (5), Nature Biotechnology (1), and Communications Biology (1). The work is based on an international collaboration of over 1,300 scientists and clinicians from 37 countries known as the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG). The effort involved analysis of more than 2,600 genomes of 38 different tumor types, creating a huge resource of primary cancer genomes. The flagship paper is titled “Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes.” In this BioQuick post, another one of the 21 articles (“The Evolutionary History of 2,658 Cancers”) is described. The the titles and links for all 21 articles are provided following description of the Evolutionary History article. In addition, related articles, including editorials and a News & Views article are provided at the end. Researchers at EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and the Francis Crick Institute in the UK have analyzed the whole genomes of over 2r,600 tumors from 38 different cancer types to determine the chronology of genomic changes during cancer development. Cancer occurs as part of a lifelong process in which our genome changes over time. As we age, our cells cannot maintain the integrity of the genome after cell division without making some errors (mutations). This process can be accelerated by various genetic predispositions and environmental factors, such as smoking. Over our lifetimes, these mutations build up and cells may be mis-programmed, leading to cancer.Login Or Register To Read Full Story