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An analysis of data from the Sherlock-Lung study provides insight into the mutational processes that contribute to lung cancer in never smokers, and looks at the possible role of factors such as air pollution and passive smoking.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have improved our understanding of the genetic basis of lung adenocarcinoma but known susceptibility variants explain only a small fraction of the familial risk. Here, the authors perform a two-stage GWAS and report 12 novel genetic loci associated with lung adenocarcinoma in East Asians.

In cancer many gene variants may contribute to disease etiology, but the impact of a given gene variant may have varied effect size. Here, the authors analyse summary statistics of genome-wide association studies from fourteen cancers, and show the utility of polygenic risk scores may vary depending on cancer type.

Montserrat Garcia-Closas and colleagues report a genome-wide association study for bladder cancer. They identify three new susceptibility loci on chromosomes 22q13.1, 19q12 and 2q37.1.

Risk for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is higher when there are first-degree family members with the disease. Here, Scelo and colleagues perform a genome-wide association meta-analysis and new genome-wide scan to identify seven new loci with significant RCC association.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a highly inheritable cancer. Here the authors conduct a metaanalysis of four genome-wide association studies and identify three novel loci located near EOMES, SERPINB6 and LPPassociated with risk of this disease.

Marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) is a common subtype of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Here the authors carry out a two-stage genome-wide association study in over 8,000 Europeans and identify two new MZL risk loci at chromosome 6p, implicating the major histocompatibility complex in the disease for the first time.

Whole-genome sequencing of 962 clear cell renal cell carcinomas from 11 countries shows geographic variations in somatic mutation profiles, including a mutational signature of unknown cause in 70% of cases from Japan.

A multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of kidney cancer identifies 63 regions associated with disease susceptibility including one locus that was associated with increased risk in individuals with African ancestry.

Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM)/lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL) is a non-Hodgkin-type B cell lymphoma. Here, the authors identify two risk loci for WM/LPL in a two-stage GWAS involving a family-oversampling approach and provide evidence for a functional role of the non-coding SNP rs116446171.

Allele-preferential transcription factor binding can influence pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma risk loci function. Here, the authors show allele-specific JunB and JunD binding at chr1p36.33 and propose a role for KLHL17 in protein homeostasis by mitigating inflammation.

Multiple genetic loci are associated with lung cancer risk, but the underlying genetic mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, the authors perform single-cell RNA-seq and ATAC-seq analyses of lung cells from ever- and never-smokers; they report candidate cis-regulatory elements that colocalise with candidate causal variants in lung cancer risk loci and potential susceptibility genes.

Susan Slager and colleagues report a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). They identify nine loci newly associated with CLL.

Christine Skibola and colleagues identify variants at 6p21.32 associated with risk of follicular lymphoma, providing further support that variation in the MHC region influences risk of this disease. They also replicate previously reported risk variants for chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Circulating proteins are a potential source of cancer biomarkers. Here, the authors assessed 2,074 circulating proteins and used Mendelian randomisation to compare with the risk of 9 common cancer types across multiple GWAS cohorts and identified key considerations with respect to the potential for adverse effects of altering cancer-risk proteins that inform their utility in cancer prevention.

Whole-genome sequencing of lung cancer in never smokers identifies different copy number subtypes and shows a lack of tobacco smoking signatures, even in cases exposed to secondhand smoke.

It is unclear how often genetic mosaicism of chromosome X arises. Here, the authors examine women with cancer and cancer-free controls and show that X chromosome mosaicism occurs more frequently than on autosomes, especially on the inactive X chromosome, but is not linked to non-haematologic cancer risk

A cross-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of lung cancer including 61,047 cases and 947,237 controls identifies five new cross-ancestry susceptibility loci and highlights ancestry-specific effects of common and rare variants on lung cancer risk.

Genetic variants associated with susceptibility to pancreatic cancer have been identified using genome wide association studies (GWAS). Here, the authors combine data from over 9000 patients and perform a meta-analysis to identify five novel loci linked to pancreatic cancer.

Ewing sarcoma (EWS) is a rare pediatric bone cancer typically involving the EWSR1-FLI1 fusion. Here the authors perform a genome-wide association study and report three new EWS risk loci that reside near GGAA repeat sequences, and identify candidate genes (RREB1 and KIZ) from eQTL analysis.

Luis Pérez-Jurado, Stephen Chanock and colleagues detect clonal chromosomal abnormalities in peripheral blood or buccal samples from individuals in the general population. They show that the frequency of such events increases with age and is associated with elevated risk of developing subsequent hematological cancers.

Paul Brennan, Stephen Chanock and colleagues performed a genome-wide association study for renal carcinoma. They identified two genetic susceptibility loci.

Qing Lan and colleagues report the results of a genome-wide association study of lung cancer in never-smoking women from Asia. They identify three new susceptibility loci and confirm three other previously reported associations.

Ludmila Prokunina-Olsson and colleagues report a fine-mapping and association analysis of germline variants in the APOBEC3 region associated with cancer risk. They identify two variants with differential effects in bladder and breast cancer, and their in vitro results suggest that environmental exposures may induce tissue-specific APOBEC mutagenesis and contribute to oncogenesis in carriers of APOBEC3 risk variants.

James Cerhan and colleagues report genome-wide association and meta-analysis studies to identify genetic susceptibility loci for diffuse large B cell lymphoma. They identify four loci that influence genetic susceptibility to this B cell malignancy.

Sharon Savage and colleagues report the results of a genome-wide association study of osteosarcoma. They identify two susceptibility loci for this primary bone malignancy, including variants within the metabotropic glutamate receptor gene GRM4.

Meredith Yeager, Stephen Chanock and colleagues analyze mosaic loss of the Y chromosome in three prospective cohorts and observe association with age and smoking but not with cancer survival. They also identify common variation at TCL1A associated with increased risk of mosaic loss of the Y chromosome.

Rachael Stolzenberg-Solomon, Laufey Amundadottir and colleagues report a genome-wide association study of pancreatic cancer. They identify four new susceptibility loci.

Langezaal, van den Broek, et al. develop a decision support system for epidemiological job coding. This system is used for occupational classification and exposure assessment of job descriptions and performs better than both expert coders and alternative currently available tools.