The bioinformatics of immunity.

Cancer and the Immune System: The Vital Connection

Cancer Research Institute · primer

A plain-language introduction to how the immune system recognizes cancer, how tumors evade it, and how immunotherapy restores the response.

Real-world clinical utility of tumor whole-genome sequencing in solid cancers

van Putten et al. · Nature Medicine · 2026 · open access

Routine paired tumor–normal whole-genome sequencing for 888 patients at a cancer center found actionable biomarkers in 73% and changed clinical care for 41%.

To share or not to share: A randomized trial of consent for data sharing in genome research

McGuire et al. · Genetics in Medicine · 2011

“Our findings indicate that most participants are willing to publicly release their genomic data.” Of 323 people enrolling in genome studies, only one declined because of data sharing concerns.

The Angiosarcoma Project: enabling genomic and clinical discoveries in a rare cancer through patient-partnered research

Painter et al. · Nature Medicine · 2020

“Empowering patients to directly participate in research can overcome barriers in rare diseases and can enable discoveries.” In 18 months, 338 patients with a cancer diagnosed about 300 times a year in the US shared their records and tumor samples online, and their public genomic data pointed to immunotherapy for a subset of patients.

Precedent: who else in the GDC carries this variant?

Web tool · free · runs in your browser

Paste a few variants such as BRAF V600E or drop a VCF, and see how many of 21,250 patients in the NCI Genomic Data Commons carry the same or similar changes, with what is recorded about their disease, treatment and survival. Your file stays on your device.