The fitness landscape of BRCA2 loss and therapy resistance across cancers (C04 [B08])

• Subject Area: Pathology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 325931972

We will analyze the fitness landscape of DNA repair deficiency by reduced BRCA2 function across four different cancer types. We will determine fitness benefits and costs of BRCA2 loss, including the effects of subsequent driver and passenger mutations. From this fitness landscape, we will predict the tissue-specific prevalence of this mutational pathway in evolved cancers, as well as the response to PARP inhibitor therapies. Our fitness model will address a highly relevant clinical question: to predict cancer-type specific resistance to treatment.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1310: Predictability in Evolution
• Applicant Institution: Universität zu Köln
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Reinhard Büttner, since 1/2022; Professor Dr. Axel Hillmer, since 1/2022