Exploring the Somatic Landscape of Adult and Paediatric Chordoma

Chordoma is a malignant, often incurable bone tumour of the spine in adults and children. The principal treatment of chordoma is surgery, and radiation therapy, but success is minimal. Researchers hope to identify mutations that drive the growth of Chordoma tumors in pediatric and adult patients. The goal of this project is to describe the landscape of driver mutations and mutational processes in sporadic chordoma, including paediatric chordoma, and investigate their relationship with clinical characteristics. Once mutations that drive the development of chordoma tumors are identified researchers can begin the development of improved therapies. Without access to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Atlas, researchers would be unable to carry out these comparisons.