Question

cancer in the study, many individual samples were taken from different people. the histogram below represents data from samples of two different types of lung cancer: lung adenocarcinoma and lung squamous cell carcinoma. each sample was taken from the cancerous lung cells of a different individual with cancer. each bin on the histogram represents the number of mutations in the persons cancerous cells compared to the rest of their body. credit: graph created by ck12 learning using data from kandoth et al. (2013) mutational landscape and significance across 12 major cancer types. nature doi:10.1038/nature12224 which statements are supported by the data in the histogram? select all that apply. on average, the squamous cell carcinoma samples had more mutations than the adenocarcinoma samples. there were about the same number of adenocarcinoma samples and squamous cell carcinoma samples that had 701 to 800 mutations. most samples of cancerous lung cells had the same number of mutations, regardless of whether they were from an adenocarcinoma or a squamous cell carcinoma. the most common frequency of mutations found in lung squamous cell carcinomas was 201 to 300 mutations. about 50 samples of lung adenocarcinoma cells had between 401 and 500 mutations.

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze average mutations

Visually compare the heights of blue (lung adenocarcinoma) and red (lung squamous - cell carcinoma) bars across all bins. The red bars are generally higher, indicating that on average, the squamous - cell carcinoma samples had more mutations than the adenocarcinoma samples.

Step2: Check 701 - 800 mutations bin

Look at the bin for 701 - 800 mutations. The heights of the blue and red bars are approximately the same, meaning there were about the same number of adenocarcinoma samples and squamous - cell carcinoma samples that had 701 to 800 mutations.

Step3: Evaluate most common mutations

The highest red bar is in the 201 - 300 mutations bin, so the most common frequency of mutations found in lung squamous - cell carcinoma was 201 to 300 mutations.

Step4: Check 401 - 500 mutations bin for adenocarcinoma

The height of the blue bar in the 401 - 500 mutations bin is around 20, not 50. So the statement "About 50 samples of lung adenocarcinoma cells had between 401 and 500 mutations" is incorrect. Also, it is clear that most samples of cancerous lung cells did not have the same number of mutations regardless of the type of cancer as the bars vary significantly in height across bins for the two types of cancer.

Answer:

• On average, the squamous - cell carcinoma samples had more mutations than the adenocarcinoma samples.
• There were about the same number of adenocarcinoma samples and squamous - cell carcinoma samples that had 701 to 800 mutations.
• The most common frequency of mutations found in lung squamous - cell carcinoma was 201 to 300 mutations.