Aneuploidy in Cancer: Seq-ing Answers to Old Questions

Aneuploidy, the state of having gained or lost chromosomes, is a hallmark of cancer. Approximately 90% of tumors have gained or lost at least one chromosome. In spite of aneuploidy occurring as frequently as, if not more often than, disruption of the p53 pathway, whether and how aneuploidy influences tumorigenesis is still poorly understood. Here, we take advantage of large-scale tumor sequencing efforts to assess karyotypic alterations across many cancer types and review recent sequencing studies that show how karyotypes change in space and time. We further summarize findings that describe the effects of aneuploidy on untransformed cells, the mechanisms by which aneuploidy could drive tumorigenesis, and the potential to target aneuploidy for cancer therapy.