Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40775447›Full record

ArticleBritish journal of cancer2025

Isoform-level analyses of 6 cancers uncover extensive genetic risk mechanisms undetected at the gene-level.

Yung-Han Chang, Sean T Bresnahan, S Taylor Head, Tabitha A Harrison, Yao Yu, Chad D Huff, Bogdan Pasaniuc, Sara Lindström, Arjun Bhattacharya

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in British journal of cancer, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. mRNA Isoforms and Variants in Health and Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Yung-Han ChangQuantitative Sciences Program, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA.
Sean T BresnahanDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
S Taylor HeadDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Tabitha A HarrisonDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Yao YuDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Chad D HuffDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Bogdan PasaniucDepartment of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Sara LindströmDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Arjun BhattacharyaDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA. abhattacharya3@mdanderson.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1196-4385

Funding

Methods for Genome-wide Association Studies in Admixed PopulationsR01HG006399 · NHGRI · HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI PRICE, ALKES L · 2011 to 2024
$6.3M
Quantifying and Characterizing the shared genetic contribution to common cancersU01CA194393 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI KRAFT, PETER, LINDSTROEM, SARA · 2015 to 2023
$3.0M
Leveraging cross-cancer shared heritability to better understand the genetic architecture of cancerR01CA194393 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI KRAFT, PETER, LINDSTROEM, SARA · 2020 to 2022
$1.6M
Alternative splicing and isoform expression as mediators for the genetic etiology of breast cancerR21CA293419 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF TX MD ANDERSON CAN CTR · PI BHATTACHARYA, ARJUN, LINDSTROEM, SARA · 2024 to 2024
$407k
NCI NIH HHS R01 CA194393NCI NIH HHS R21 CA293419NCI NIH HHS U01 CA194393NHGRI NIH HHS R01 HG006399U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Cancer Institute (NCI) CA293419
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIntegrating genome-wide association study (GWAS) and transcriptomic datasets can identify mediators for genetic risk of cancer. Traditional methods often are insufficient as they rely on total gene expression measures and overlook alternative splicing, which generates different transcript-isoforms with potentially distinct effects.

methodsWe integrate multi-tissue isoform expression data from the Genotype Tissue-Expression Project with GWAS summary statistics (all N > ~20,000 cases) to identify isoform- and gene-level associations with six cancers (breast, endometrial, colorectal, lung, ovarian, prostate) and six related cancer subtype classifications (N = 12 total).

resultsDirectly modeling isoforms using transcriptome-wide association studies (isoTWAS) significantly improves discovery of genetic associations compared to gene-level approaches, identifying 164% more significant associations (6163 vs. 2336) with isoTWAS-prioritized genes enriched 4-fold for evolutionarily-constrained genes. isoTWAS tags transcriptomic associations at 52% more independent GWAS loci across the six cancers. Isoform expression mediates an estimated 63% greater proportion of cancer risk SNP heritability compared to gene expression. We highlight several isoTWAS associations that demonstrate GWAS colocalization at the isoform level but not at the gene level, including CLPTM1L (lung cancer), LAMC1 (colorectal), and BABAM1 (breast).

conclusionThese results underscore the importance of modeling isoforms to maximize discovery of genetic risk mechanisms for cancers.

Indexed as

Genetic Predisposition to DiseaseNeoplasmsAlternative SplicingBreast NeoplasmsColorectal NeoplasmsEndometrial NeoplasmsFemaleGene Expression ProfilingGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansLung NeoplasmsMaleOvarian NeoplasmsPolymorphism, Single NucleotideProstatic NeoplasmsProtein IsoformsProtein Isoforms

Identifiers

PMID40775447
PMCPMC12449480

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.