Reading view
Extrachromosomal DNA drives molecular and clinical heterogeneity in hepatocellular carcinoma: a multi-omics analysis and prognostic model development
Hum Genomics. 2026 Feb 3. doi: 10.1186/s40246-026-00927-w. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) is an emerging hallmark of cancer that promotes tumor evolution and heterogeneity. However, the molecular characteristics and clinical significance of ecDNA in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain incompletely understood.
METHODS: The clinical outcomes, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, tumor microenvironment, and drug target landscapes of ecDNA-negative and ecDNA-positive HCC in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were compared. Next, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and random survival forest (RSF) algorithms were used to screen the ecDNA gene signature. A nomogram was constructed and evaluated based on the risk score and clinicopathological features. Finally, the role of DNASE1L3 was validated through in vitro experiments.
RESULTS: EcDNA-positive tumors showed increased vascular invasion, higher AFP levels, and more TP53 mutations. These tumors displayed unique activation of proliferation pathways, decreased stromal infiltration, and heightened immune activation. Our validated six-gene signature (RNF186, BMP6, AOC1, FBLL1, MYBL2, and DNASE1L3) demonstrated strong prognostic value when combined with tumor stage in the nomogram. Notably, DNASE1L3 was downregulated in HCC, showed endothelial cell-specific expression, and suppressed the proliferation and migration of Hep3B2.1-7 cells.
CONCLUSION: Our study characterizes the molecular and clinical distinctions between ecDNA-negative and ecDNA-positive HCC and establishes a clinically applicable gene signature for patient prognosis. These findings advance our understanding of ecDNA-driven tumor heterogeneity and provide potential strategies for personalized HCC management.
PMID:41634868 | DOI:10.1186/s40246-026-00927-w
Integrative proteogenomics maps multifactorial aetiology, progression and therapeutic vulnerabilities in gastric cancer
Gut. 2026 Jan 30:gutjnl-2025-337247. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2025-337247. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer, with disproportionately higher incidence in East Asia, arises from complex host-microbiome-environment interactions beyond Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection. However, the molecular architecture linking environmental carcinogens, microbial succession and host response remains unclear.
OBJECTIVE: To delineate multifactorial aetiologies and clinically actionable subtypes/biomarkers of gastric cancer through integrative proteogenomic, microbial and environmental exposure profiling.
DESIGN: We established a multiomics atlas of paired tumour, adjacent mucosa tissues and blood from 154 treatment-naïve Taiwanese patients, integrating whole-exome sequencing, RNA-seq, proteome and phosphoproteome profiling with carcinogen signatures, HP status, microbiome composition and refined anatomical mapping. Cell-based functional assays tested carcinogen effects. Microbial subtype was assessed in an independent cohort.
RESULTS: A polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbon signature, dibenz[a,h]acridine, emerged as a high-risk exposure promoting invasion, immune suppression and poor survival, significantly exceeding nitrosamine-linked risk in this cohort. Multilayer integration defined three initiation ecologies: HP-driven inflammatory, non-HP microbiome-enriched immune-silent and HP-free microbially depleted states. Among HP-negative tumours, a Streptococcus-enriched subtype associated with tight-junction (CLDN18.2/ZO-1/OCLN) disruption and epithelial-mesenchymal transition, whereas a subset of clinically aggressive cases retained CLDN18.2-high epithelial-stable subtype for therapeutic accessibility. An independent cohort revealed gastric juice-derived Streptococcus anginosus abundance inversely correlated with tight-junction proteins. Anatomical mapping reveals location-specific, sex-specific, subtype-specific oncogenic networks and kinase activity, including CDK4 activation in clinical biomarker-negative tumours. Decision-tree models combining exposure and proteome-immune states refined recurrence and survival prediction beyond stage.
CONCLUSION: This proteogenomic framework defines exposure-informed and microbiome-informed gastric cancer subtypes, providing a molecular schema for patient stratification, prevention and actionable therapeutic vulnerabilities.
PMID:41617485 | DOI:10.1136/gutjnl-2025-337247
Publisher Correction: Best practice recommendations and considerations for designing and electronically implementing event-driven diaries in clinical trials
npj Digital Medicine, Published online: 27 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41746-026-02396-w
Publisher Correction: Best practice recommendations and considerations for designing and electronically implementing event-driven diaries in clinical trialsFederated Proximal Optimization for Privacy-Preserving Heart Disease Prediction: A Controlled Simulation Study on Non-IID Clinical Data
The Limits of AI Data Transparency Policy: Three Disclosure Fallacies
Multimodal digital biopsy for preoperative prediction of occult peritoneal metastasis in gastric cancer
npj Digital Medicine, Published online: 26 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41746-025-02268-9
Multimodal digital biopsy for preoperative prediction of occult peritoneal metastasis in gastric cancerPyHealth 2.0: A Comprehensive Open-Source Toolkit for Accessible and Reproducible Clinical Deep Learning
DeepEra: A Deep Evidence Reranking Agent for Scientific Retrieval-Augmented Generated Question Answering
An Optimized Decision Tree-Based Framework for Explainable IoT Anomaly Detection
OpenEvidence hits $12B valuation, with new round led by Thrive, DST
OpenNovelty: An LLM-powered Agentic System for Verifiable Scholarly Novelty Assessment
An artificial intelligence-powered learning health system to improve sepsis detection and quality of care: a before-and-after study
npj Digital Medicine, Published online: 20 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41746-025-02180-2
An artificial intelligence-powered learning health system to improve sepsis detection and quality of care: a before-and-after studyLLM-driven collaborative framework for knowledge-enhanced cancer pain assessment and management
npj Digital Medicine, Published online: 19 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41746-026-02362-6
LLM-driven collaborative framework for knowledge-enhanced cancer pain assessment and managementJapanese AI Agent System on Human Papillomavirus Vaccination: System Design
AnyECG: Evolved ECG Foundation Model for Holistic Health Profiling
Wearable device derived electrocardiographic age and its association with atrial fibrillation
npj Digital Medicine, Published online: 17 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41746-026-02344-8
Wearable device derived electrocardiographic age and its association with atrial fibrillationGlucagon-like peptide-1 medicines and cancer
Nature Cancer, Published online: 16 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s43018-025-01110-1
Yabut and Drucker discuss clinical and preclinical evidence about the potential roles of GLP-1 medicines on cancer incidence, development and therapy and speculate about their mechanism on cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment.Contaminating plasmid sequences and disrupted vector genomes in the liver following adeno-associated virus gene therapy
Nature Medicine, Published online: 16 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-025-04073-z
Analyses of liver biopsies from a child with spinal muscular atrophy treated with adeno-associated virus gene therapy who developed hepatitis reveal contaminating manufacturing plasmids and disrupted vector genomes, possibly resulting from recombination events.Circulating metabolites, genetics and lifestyle factors in relation to future risk of type 2 diabetes
Nat Med. 2026 Jan 14. doi: 10.1038/s41591-025-04105-8. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
The human metabolome reflects complex metabolic states affected by genetic and environmental factors. However, metabolites associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk and their determinants remain insufficiently characterized. Here we integrated blood metabolomic, genomic and lifestyle data from up to 23,634 initially T2D-free participants from ten cohorts. Of 469 metabolites examined, 235 were associated with incident T2D during up to 26 years of follow-up, including 67 associations not previously reported across bile acid, lipid, carnitine, urea cycle and arginine/proline, glycine and histidine pathways. Further genetic analyses linked these metabolites to signaling pathways and clinical traits central to T2D pathophysiology, including insulin resistance, glucose/insulin response, ectopic fat deposition, energy/lipid regulation and liver function. Lifestyle factors-particularly physical activity, obesity and diet-explained greater variations in T2D-associated versus non-associated metabolites, with specific metabolites revealed as potential mediators. Finally, a 44-metabolite signature improved T2D risk prediction beyond conventional factors. These findings provide a foundation for understanding T2D mechanisms and may inform precision prevention targeting specific metabolic pathways.
PMID:41535386 | DOI:10.1038/s41591-025-04105-8