Inocras and Broad Institute researchers to release novel insights from TCGA cancer whole-genome analysis at AACR 2026
Comprehensive analysis of one of the largest datasets with harmonized variant calls from over 8,000 cancer whole genomes enables researchers worldwide to uncover rare drivers, new targets, and AI-ready insights that could reshape precision oncology
17 Apr 2026
Researchers at Inocras and the Broad Institute have announced that they will release key insights from the whole-genome analysis of over 8,000 public cancer whole genomes at AACR 2026. This analysis aims to deliver one of the largest genome-wide landscapes of somatic mutations across human pan-cancers.
Whole-genome sequencing is the next step for genomic discovery
Broad Institute and Inocras researchers teamed up to analyze thousands of high-quality whole cancer genomes released by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project. This dataset is the landmark cancer genomics program of the NCI that has molecularly characterized over 8,000 cases across 31 different cancer types with well-annotated clinical information and has been an invaluable resource for cancer research and for developing cancer diagnostics tools for nearly two decades.
However, previous studies have been limited, relying primarily on whole-exome sequencing data analysis, leaving several key aspects understudied, including oncogenic driver mutations in non-coding regions, genomic rearrangements (structural variations; SVs), genome-wide copy number alterations (CNA), and mutational signatures.
As a consequence, most routine cancer sequencing and discovery work has thus far relied on targeted gene panels that cover only a small fraction of the genome.
A harmonized dataset for cancer whole genomes
The Broad–Inocras collaboration moves the field to whole-genome coverage at scale: the whole genome analysis was performed using a bioinformatics pipeline by the Broad Institute and CancerVision™ from Inocras in parallel, and then the two organizations harmonized the variant calls for the downstream analysis.
All the data was consolidated into a single, frozen, and well-curated dataset to enable a consistent analysis across both groups and robust benchmarking of computational and AI methods. This effort represents a unified whole genome analytical framework for the TCGA dataset, establishing a new gold standard for cancer genome research.
“The powerful cancer whole genome pipelines of both organizations at production scale have made this project possible, while creating a robust tumor-normal whole genome cancer dataset,” said Dr Young Seok Ju, Co-Founder of Inocras, Director of Genome Insight Institute and Associate Professor at KAIST.
“The whole genome pipelines and dataset set the gold standard of cancer research, potentially unlocking the next wave of cohort studies, drug discovery, and AI-driven cancer research at a WGS level.”
Results from the Broad–Inocras collaboration and future initiatives at AACR
The key insights from this collaboration will be shared in different forums and poster sessions during the AACR Annual Meeting, taking place from April 17–22 in San Diego, USA.
Prof. Getz from the Broad Institute will present 'New Insights from TCGA Whole-Genome Sequencing' during the Educational Session on Saturday, April 18.
The principal investigators from the Broad Institute and Inocras, including Prof. Getz; Dr. Rheinbay; and Dr. Youngseok Ju, MD, Co-founder of Inocras and Associate Professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, will jointly present data highlights and discuss future initiatives during the Exhibitor Spotlight session 'TCGA and Beyond: Whole-Genome Data Powering the Next Era of Cancer Intelligence' on Monday, April 20.