A landmark study has revealed how inherited genetic variants, known as germline variants, play a critical role in the progression of cancer.

The research, conducted by a global consortium of scientists, including Kathleen J. Imbach and contributors from the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), offers new insights into how these genetic factors influence molecular processes across a wide range of cancer types.

Babies and young children may breathe and absorb plasticizers called phthalates, flame retardants, and other harmful chemicals from their mattresses while they sleep, according to a pair of peer-reviewed studies led by the University of Toronto and published in Environmental Science & Technology and Environmental Science & Technology Letters. These chemicals are linked to neurological and reproductive problems, asthma, hormone disruption, and cancer.    

Genome Research publishes Part 2 of the Special Issue on Long-read DNA and RNA Sequencing Applications in Biology and Medicine, a diverse collection of research, methods, and review articles offering novel biological and clinical insights gained using long-read DNA and RNA sequencing technologies and other long molecule approaches. Articles in this issue provide advances in multiple areas, including genome assembly and annotation, rare disease diagnostics, structural variation, cancer genomics, transcriptomics, epigenetics, and single-cell sequencing.

A new multicenter study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute-funded Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) and colleagues around the world, has discovered that the genes we are born with—known as germline genetic variants—play a powerful, underappreciated role in how cancer develops and behaves. Published in the April 14 online issue of Cell [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.03.026], the study is the first to detail how millions of inherited genetic differences influence the activity of thousands of proteins within tumors. Drawing on data from more than 1,000 patients across 10 different cancer types, the research illustrates how a person’s unique genetic makeup can shape the biology of their cancer.