Cancer Candidates
Cancer Candidates highlight sequence differences found between DNA samples of the same individual. This guide explains how candidates are detected, how to browse and understand them, and what to do on the detail page.
Requirements
Cancer candidate detection requires an active subscription that includes the "Cancer candidate detection" benefit. If your plan does not include it, the cancer candidates page shows an upgrade prompt instead and no candidates are detected for new alignments. You can compare plans on the subscriptions page.
What is a cancer candidate?
When you have more than one genome for the same individual, GENOTURK compares reads from different genomes that align to the same region. Any base-pair difference found between them is recorded as a "cancer candidate".
How candidates are detected
Detection happens automatically after a new genome alignment is completed:
- A read is compared against past alignments of a different genome belonging to the same individual, on an overlapping range of the same chromosome
- Every differing base pair in the overlap is captured with its original and mutated nucleotide
- Even a single base-pair difference creates a candidate
Severity and certainty
Each candidate is scored with two values from 1 to 3, both of which reflect how different the sequences are:
Severity
How large the divergence is. High divergence (roughly 25% or more) scores 3, medium divergence (10% or more) scores 2, anything smaller scores 1.
Certainty
How confident we are in the detection, also derived from how much of the region differs. Larger differences imply higher certainty (3), while an isolated single base change receives the lowest certainty (1).
Browsing candidates
The Cancer Candidates page lists every detected candidate with its name, genome, individual, severity, certainty and detection date. The list supports:
- Free-text search across candidates
- Filters for individual, severity, certainty and creation date range
- Sorting by any column, plus page-by-page navigation
Cancer candidates of genomes shared with you through a team are listed as well — their names are shown in a different color (olive-lime) to distinguish them from your own.
Understand the detail page
Clicking a candidate opens a full report of the difference:
Different base pairs
Every differing base is listed with its genomic position, the original nucleotide (from the older genome) and the mutation (from the newer genome). The overlap range, the number of compared bases, the number of different bases and the overall divergence are shown alongside.
Genes in the region
The detail page looks up which genes overlap the affected region and displays their names and aliases, helping you understand what the change might affect.
Gene therapy (CRISPR-Cas9)
For the affected region GENOTURK designs candidate 20-nucleotide CRISPR-Cas9 guide RNAs with a nearby NGG PAM. The editing target and the design/delivery workflow are drawn from the flanking sequence of the variant, with up to six candidate guides suggested.
Alignments and comments
The page shows both the new and the old alignment that produced the candidate, with the same per-alignment comments and threaded replies as the Genome Detail page.
Naming a candidate
Candidates are created unnamed and shown with a default label such as "Mutation on chromosome X". You can rename a candidate inline on its detail page; the new name is used everywhere in lists and searches.
Ask AI
An AI assistant is available on the detail page, preloaded with the candidate variants and the genes in the region, so you can ask questions about the difference in plain language.
Deleting candidates
You can delete a single candidate from its row in the list, or remove all of your cancer candidates at once from Settings under Danger Zone.
Important disclaimer
Cancer candidates are research and informational outputs produced by comparing sequencing data. They are not a clinical diagnosis and should not replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional about your health data.