HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) recommendations for the designation of gene fusions.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-2021

Publication Title

Leukemia : official journal of the Leukemia Society of America, Leukemia Research Fund, U.K

Keywords

JGM

JAX Source

Leukemia 2021 Nov; 35(11):3040-3043

Volume

35

Issue

11

First Page

3040

Last Page

3043

ISSN

1476-5551

PMID

34615987

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41375-021-01436-6

Abstract

Gene fusions have been discussed in the scientific literature since they were first detected in cancer cells in the early 1980s. There is currently no standardized way to denote the genes involved in fusions, but in the majority of publications the gene symbols in question are listed either separated by a hyphen (-) or by a forward slash (/). Both types of designation suffer from important shortcomings. HGNC has worked with the scientific community to determine a new, instantly recognizable and unique separator-a double colon (::)-to be used in the description of fusion genes, and advocates its usage in all databases and articles describing gene fusions.

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