STAG Mutations in Cancer

Stromal Antigen 1 and 2 (STAG1/2) are key subunits of the cohesin complex that mediate sister chromatid cohesion, DNA repair, transcriptional regulation, and genome topology. Genetic alterations comprising any of the 11 cohesin-associated genes possibly occur in up to 26% of patients included in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) studies. STAG2 shows the highest number of putative driver truncating mutations. We provide a comprehensive review of the function of STAG1/2 in human physiology and disease and an integrative analysis of available omics data on STAG alterations in a wide array of cancers, comprising 53 691 patients and 1067 cell lines. Lastly, we discuss opportunities for therapeutic intervention.