Human genes are arranged on 23 pairs of chromosomes. However, in cancer, tumour-promoting genes can break away from chromosomes and move to circular extrachromosomal pieces of DNA called ecDNA. These ecDNAs do not follow the usual “rules” of inheritance during cell division. Instead, they allow tumours to produce more cancer-causing genes and enable cancers to change and evolve their genomes to resist treatment. The altered circular structure of ecDNA also changes the way genes are regulated and expressed in cancer cells, contributing to aggressive tumor growth.

ecDNA poses one of the greatest challenges for cancer patients. It affects children and adults, women and men with many of the most aggressive forms of cancer. It’s present in most solid tumors, including glioblastoma, medulloblastoma, sarcoma, and cancers of various organs. ecDNA can emerge early during cancer formation or later in the disease progression.

Team eDyNAmiC is committed to finding new and better ways to diagnose and treat patients with ecDNA-containing cancers. We are a pioneering interdisciplinary global team of cancer biologists, geneticists, computer scientists, evolutionary biologists, mathematicians, immunobiologists, chemists, clinicians, and patient advocates. We endeavor to develop novel insights and transformative solutions to one of Cancer’s Grandest Challenges.