The research team also assessed mutation rates for genes that are not included in a cancer ... Patients with this cancer type had an earlier cancer onset if they carried predisposing germline variants ...

Clarke, PhD, professor at The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, is the author of a paper appearing in the scientific journal iScience titled "Aromatics from fossil fuels and breast cancer." ...

Both germline and somatic ATM mutations were also associated with ... PSA [prostate specific antigen] screening, given the high rates of overdiagnosis," say the researchers.

Additionally, inherited genetic variations, known as germline SNPs, were found to influence how tumors evolve by affecting which somatic mutations are acquired during tumor development.