Researchers have created a publicly available catalogue that details tens of thousands of protein mutations — and alterations in protein frequency — in colon-cancer tissue.

Bing Zhang at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and his colleagues examined protein sequences and activity in tumours from 110 people with colon cancer, and compared the findings with protein data from non-cancerous tissue taken from the same individuals. The team identified 56,592 different mutations in proteins in the cancer samples. Some of these had never been seen before, and might provide clues — or biomarkers — that could help doctors to characterize different types of colon cancer.

The analysis also flagged genes that were unusually active in cancerous tissue, including some that are known to have a role in tumour suppression. A reaction called phosphorylation helped to account for the elevated activity, so the authors suggest that curbing the reaction might return the proteins to their usual anti-cancer function.

I﻿n 78% of patients, the team pinpointed proteins that might activate a person’s immune response — and, perhaps, provide fodder for personalized cancer therapies of the future.