Q (haiku): How many samples are there that have any of these mutations in SEPHS1: p.Arg371Trp, p.Arg371Gln, p.Arg371Gly? ▶ read_guide { "uri": "cbioportal://mutation-frequency-guide" } ◀ result # Mutation Frequency Analysis Guide ## IMPORTANT: Reporting Mutation Frequencies - **ALWAYS report frequencies as percentages**, not raw counts: `frequency = (altered_samples / total_profiled_samples) × 100` - For quick frequency lookups, **prefer the TCGA Pan-Cancer Atlas study first**, then offer to expand to other studies - When reporting across multiple studies, show **ranges** (e.g., "TP53 is mutated in 30–60% of samples") rather than a single average - **NEVER** sum mutation events across studies to compute an aggregate frequency — this can exceed 100% due to double-counting - Warn users that samples may overlap across cohorts (e.g., MSK studies may share patients) - **Choose and state the counting unit**: use patient-level frequencies for prevalence/rate questions unless the user explicitly asks for samples; use sample-level frequencies when the user asks about samples. - **For "across cancer types" questions**, jump to the [Cross-Cancer-Type Mutation Frequency](#cross-cancer-type-mutation-frequency) section below — there is one correct recipe and several common wrong ones. ## Counting Unit: Samples vs Patients Before answering any mutation count or frequency question, decide whether the unit is samples or patients and state that choice in the answer. | User wording | Counting unit | |--------------|---------------| | "prevalence", "rate", "fraction of patients", "patients with", "how common is" | Patient-level: `COUNT(DISTINCT patient_unique_id)` | | "samples", "specimens", "biopsies", sample-level cohort composition | Sample-level: `COUNT(DISTINCT sample_unique_id)` | | Ambiguous | Ask, or default to patient-level for prevalence/rate language and say so | ### Cross-study sample-count caveat When an answer touches more than one study and reports a sample count, prepend a one-line caveat: > Sample IDs are unique within cBioPortal study prefixes, not guaranteed biological-sample identifiers across studies; overlapping cohorts can count the same patient/sample more than once. Prefer one of these safer approaches: - Use a shipped `cancer_study_query_preferences` cohort such as `pan_cancer_tcga` or `all_studies_non_redundant`. - Restrict to one named study. - Aggregate by `patient_unique_id` when the biological question is patient prevalence. ## STOP rule: a frequency above 100% means your query is wrong If your query returns a frequency over 100%, **do not try to debug or explain the data inconsistency to the user**. The cause is always one of these query bugs: - Summing mutation events instead of `COUNT(DISTINCT sample_unique_id)` for the numerator - Using a study-wide sample count as the denominator instead of the gene-specific profiled count - Cross-study aggregation where the same biological sample appears under multiple `sample_unique_id` values (e.g., MSK-IMPACT and MSK-CHORD share patients) - **Joining the profiled CTE through `gene_panel` / `gene_panel_list` without a WES branch.** `gene_panel_id = 'WES'` is *not* a row in … (35166 more chars) ▶ clickhouse_list_tables {} ◀ result {"tables":[{"name":"allele_specific_copy_number"},{"name":"alteration_driver_annotation"},{"name":"cancer_study"},{"name":"cancer_study_query_preferences"},{"name":"cancer_study_tags"},{"name":"cbioportal_sequence_state"},{"name":"clinical_attribute_counts"},{"name":"clinical_attribute_meta"},{"name":"clinical_data_derived"},{"name":"clinical_event"},{"name":"clinical_event_data"},{"name":"clinical_event_data_derived"},{"name":"clinical_event_derived"},{"name":"clinical_patient"},{"name":"clinical_sample"},{"name":"cna_event"},{"name":"cna_panel_gene_coverage"},{"name":"cna_wes_coverage"},{"name":"co_altered_genes_in_study"},{"name":"copy_number_seg"},{"name":"copy_number_seg_file"},{"name":"gene"},{"name":"gene_alias"},{"name":"gene_alteration_frequency_by_cancer_type"},{"name":"gene_cna_distribution_in_study"},{"name":"gene_mutation_frequency_by_cancer_type"},{"name":"gene_mutation_frequency_in_studies"},{"name":"gene_mutation_frequency_in_study"},{"name":"gene_mutation_variants_in_study"},{"name":"gene_pair_coexpression"},{"name":"gene_panel"},{"name":"gene_panel_list"},{"name":"gene_panel_to_gene_derived"},{"name":"generic_assay_data_derived"},{"name":"generic_assay_meta_derived"},{"name":"generic_assay_profile_entity_derived"},{"name":"generic_entity_properties"},{"name":"geneset"},{"name":"geneset_gene"},{"name":"geneset_hierarchy_leaf"},{"name":"geneset_hierarchy_node"},{"name":"genetic_alteration"},{"name":"genetic_alteration_derived"},{"name":"genetic_entity"},{"name":"genetic_profile"},{"name":"genetic_profile_link"},{"name":"genetic_profile_samples"},{"name":"genomic_event_derived"},{"name":"gistic"},{"name":"gistic_to_gene"},{"name":"info"},{"name":"mut_sig"},{"name":"mutation"},{"name":"mutation_count_by_keyword"},{"name":"mutation_derived"},{"name":"mutation_event"},{"name":"mutation_panel_gene_coverage"},{"name":"mutation_wes_coverage"},{"name":"patient"},{"name":"reference_genome"},{"name":"reference_genome_gene"},{"name":"resource_definition"},{"name":"resource_patient"},{"name":"resource_sample"},{"name":"resource_study"},{"name":"sample"},{"name":"sample_cna_event"},{"name":"sample_derived"},{"name":"sample_list"},{"name":"sample_list_list"},{"name":"sample_profile"},{"name":"sample_to_gene_panel_derived"},{"name":"structural_variant"},{"name":"sv_panel_gene_coverage"},{"name":"sv_wes_coverage"},{"name":"top_cna_genes_in_study"},{"name":"top_mutated_genes_in_cohort"},{"name":"top_mutated_genes_in_study"},{"name":"top_sv_genes_in_study"},{"name":"treatment_counts_in_study"},{"name":"treatment_regimens_in_study"},{"name":"type_of_cancer"}]} ▶ clickhouse_list_table_columns { "table": "genomic_event_derived" } ◀ result {"columns":[{"name":"sample_unique_id","type":"String"},{"name":"hugo_gene_symbol","type":"String","comment":"HUGO gene symbol (e.g., TP53, KRAS, BRAF). Use for gene-specific queries."},{"name":"entrez_gene_id","type":"Int32"},{"name":"gene_panel_stable_id","type":"LowCardinality(String)"},{"name":"cancer_study_identifier","type":"LowCardinality(String)"},{"name":"genetic_profile_stable_id","type":"LowCardinality(String)"},{"name":"variant_type","type":"LowCardinality(String)","comment":"Type of genomic event: \"mutation\" for SNVs/indels, \"cna\" for copy number alterations, \"structural_variant\" for SVs. Always filter by this."},{"name":"mutation_variant","type":"String","comment":"Protein change notation (e.g., p.V600E, p.R175H). Use for specific variant queries. \"NA\" for non-mutation events."},{"name":"mutation_type","type":"LowCardinality(String)"},{"name":"mutation_status","type":"LowCardinality(String)","comment":"For mutations: Somatic, Germline, UNKNOWN, or UNCALLED. Filter mutation_status != \"UNCALLED\" to exclude uncertain calls. Include all other statuses."},{"name":"driver_filter","type":"LowCardinality(String)"},{"name":"driver_filter_annotation","type":"String"},{"name":"driver_tiers_filter","type":"LowCardinality(String)"},{"name":"driver_tiers_filter_annotation","type":"String"},{"name":"cna_alteration","type":"Nullable(Int8)","comment":"Copy number alteration: only 2 = amplification (AMP) and -2 = deep deletion (HOMDEL) are stored. Shallow deletion (-1), diploid (0) and gain (1) are not in this table; query genetic_alteration_derived WHERE profile_type = 'gistic' (alteration_value is a String, e.g. '-1'). NULL for non-CNA events."},{"name":"cna_cytoband","type":"String"},{"name":"sv_event_info","type":"String"},{"name":"patient_unique_id","type":"String"},{"name":"off_panel","type":"Bool","comment":"Boolean: 1 = mutation outside gene panel coverage (off-panel), 0 = within panel (on-panel). Filter off_panel = 0 for reliable frequency calculations."}]} ▶ clickhouse_run_select_query { "query": " SELECT DISTINCT sample_unique_id, cancer_study_identifier, hugo_gene_symbol, mutation_variant, mutation_type, mutation_status, patient_unique_id FROM genomic_event_derived WHERE hugo_gene_symbol = 'SEPHS1' AND variant_type = 'mutation' AND mutation_status != 'UNCALLED' AND mutation_variant IN ('p.Arg371Trp', 'p.Arg371Gln', 'p.Arg371Gly') ORDER BY cancer_study_identifier, sample_unique_id, mutation_variant ", "max_rows": 1000 } ◀ result {"rows":[]} ▶ clickhouse_run_select_query { "query": " SELECT DISTINCT mutation_variant, COUNT(DISTINCT sample_unique_id) as sample_count, mutation_type FROM genomic_event_derived WHERE hugo_gene_symbol = 'SEPHS1' AND variant_type = 'mutation' AND mutation_status != 'UNCALLED' GROUP BY mutation_variant, mutation_type ORDER BY sample_count DESC ", "max_rows": 100 } ◀ result {"rows":[{"mutation_variant":"E13K","sample_count":13,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"A245V","sample_count":12,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"A262T","sample_count":11,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"R362H","sample_count":11,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"R371Q","sample_count":9,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"R19Q","sample_count":8,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"C104Y","sample_count":8,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"V196M","sample_count":7,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"Q39*","sample_count":6,"mutation_type":"Nonsense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"V302M","sample_count":6,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"E339K","sample_count":6,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"Q51*","sample_count":6,"mutation_type":"Nonsense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"P34L","sample_count":6,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"T29I","sample_count":6,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"M309I","sample_count":5,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"R137K","sample_count":5,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"G78D","sample_count":5,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"M99T","sample_count":5,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"E219D","sample_count":5,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"P318L","sample_count":5,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"A275V","sample_count":5,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"S158Y","sample_count":5,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"X218_splice","sample_count":5,"mutation_type":"Splice_Site"},{"mutation_variant":"E339Q","sample_count":5,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"D134N","sample_count":5,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"G389R","sample_count":5,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"X100_splice","sample_count":5,"mutation_type":"Splice_Site"},{"mutation_variant":"A103V","sample_count":5,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"K40E","sample_count":4,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"H77R","sample_count":4,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"T3M","sample_count":4,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"G147C","sample_count":4,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"P388S","sample_count":4,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"T320S","sample_count":4,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"P202L","sample_count":4,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"E54D","sample_count":4,"mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation"},{"mutation_variant":"T133A","sample_count":4,"mu … (5483 more chars) ▶ clickhouse_run_select_query { "query": " SELECT DISTINCT mutation_variant, COUNT(DISTINCT sample_unique_id) as sample_count FROM genomic_event_derived WHERE hugo_gene_symbol = 'SEPHS1' AND variant_type = 'mutation' AND mutation_status != 'UNCALLED' AND mutation_variant IN ('R371W', 'R371Q', 'R371G') ORDER BY mutation_variant ", "max_rows": 100 } ◀ result {"error_message":"Query execution failed: HTTPDriver for https://dl96orhu96.us-east-1.aws.clickhouse.cloud:8443 received ClickHouse error code 215\n Code: 215. DB::Exception: Column 'cbioportal_public_librechat_blue.genomic_event_derived.mutation_variant' is not under aggregate function and not in GROUP BY keys. In query SELECT DISTINCT mutation_variant, COUNTDistinct(sample_unique_id) AS sample_count FROM genomic_event_derived WHERE (hugo_gene_symbol = 'SEPHS1') AND (variant_type = 'mutation') AND (mutation_status != 'UNCALLED') AND (mutation_variant IN ('R371W', 'R371Q', 'R371G')) ORDER BY mutation_variant ASC. (NOT_AN_AGGREGATE) (version 26.4.1.2359 (official build))\n"} ▶ clickhouse_run_select_query { "query": " SELECT mutation_variant, COUNT(DISTINCT sample_unique_id) as sample_count FROM genomic_event_derived WHERE hugo_gene_symbol = 'SEPHS1' AND variant_type = 'mutation' AND mutation_status != 'UNCALLED' AND mutation_variant IN ('R371W', 'R371Q', 'R371G') GROUP BY mutation_variant ORDER BY mutation_variant ", "max_rows": 100 } ◀ result {"rows":[{"mutation_variant":"R371Q","sample_count":9},{"mutation_variant":"R371W","sample_count":2}]} ▶ clickhouse_run_select_query { "query": " SELECT mutation_variant, COUNT(DISTINCT sample_unique_id) as sample_count FROM genomic_event_derived WHERE hugo_gene_symbol = 'SEPHS1' AND variant_type = 'mutation' AND mutation_status != 'UNCALLED' AND mutation_variant LIKE '%R371%' GROUP BY mutation_variant ORDER BY sample_count DESC ", "max_rows": 100 } ◀ result {"rows":[{"mutation_variant":"R371Q","sample_count":9},{"mutation_variant":"R371W","sample_count":2}]} ▶ clickhouse_run_select_query { "query": " SELECT sample_unique_id, cancer_study_identifier, mutation_variant, mutation_type, mutation_status, patient_unique_id FROM genomic_event_derived WHERE hugo_gene_symbol = 'SEPHS1' AND variant_type = 'mutation' AND mutation_status != 'UNCALLED' AND mutation_variant IN ('R371W', 'R371Q') ORDER BY mutation_variant DESC, cancer_study_identifier, sample_unique_id ", "max_rows": 100 } ◀ result {"rows":[{"sample_unique_id":"mel_dfci_2019_Sample96","cancer_study_identifier":"mel_dfci_2019","mutation_variant":"R371W","mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation","mutation_status":"NA","patient_unique_id":"mel_dfci_2019_Patient96"},{"sample_unique_id":"mel_iatlas_liu_2019_Liu_Sample96","cancer_study_identifier":"mel_iatlas_liu_2019","mutation_variant":"R371W","mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation","mutation_status":"NA","patient_unique_id":"mel_iatlas_liu_2019_Patient96"},{"sample_unique_id":"coad_cptac_gdc_be2d5946-3452-4003-880a-e0372e","cancer_study_identifier":"coad_cptac_gdc","mutation_variant":"R371Q","mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation","mutation_status":"Somatic","patient_unique_id":"coad_cptac_gdc_01CO014"},{"sample_unique_id":"coad_tcga_gdc_TCGA-AA-A01S-01","cancer_study_identifier":"coad_tcga_gdc","mutation_variant":"R371Q","mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation","mutation_status":"Somatic","patient_unique_id":"coad_tcga_gdc_TCGA-AA-A01S"},{"sample_unique_id":"coadread_tcga_TCGA-AA-A01S-01","cancer_study_identifier":"coadread_tcga","mutation_variant":"R371Q","mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation","mutation_status":"Somatic","patient_unique_id":"coadread_tcga_TCGA-AA-A01S"},{"sample_unique_id":"coadread_tcga_TCGA-AG-3608-01","cancer_study_identifier":"coadread_tcga","mutation_variant":"R371Q","mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation","mutation_status":"Somatic","patient_unique_id":"coadread_tcga_TCGA-AG-3608"},{"sample_unique_id":"coadread_tcga_pan_can_atlas_2018_TCGA-AA-A01S-01","cancer_study_identifier":"coadread_tcga_pan_can_atlas_2018","mutation_variant":"R371Q","mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation","mutation_status":".","patient_unique_id":"coadread_tcga_pan_can_atlas_2018_TCGA-AA-A01S"},{"sample_unique_id":"coadread_tcga_pub_TCGA-AA-A01S-01","cancer_study_identifier":"coadread_tcga_pub","mutation_variant":"R371Q","mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation","mutation_status":"Somatic","patient_unique_id":"coadread_tcga_pub_TCGA-AA-A01S"},{"sample_unique_id":"coadread_tcga_pub_TCGA-AG-3608-01","cancer_study_identifier":"coadread_tcga_pub","mutation_variant":"R371Q","mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation","mutation_status":"Somatic","patient_unique_id":"coadread_tcga_pub_TCGA-AG-3608"},{"sample_unique_id":"ohnca_cptac_gdc_C3N-03012-01","cancer_study_identifier":"ohnca_cptac_gdc","mutation_variant":"R371Q","mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation","mutation_status":"Somatic","patient_unique_id":"ohnca_cptac_gdc_C3N-03012"},{"sample_unique_id":"pancan_pcawg_2020_SP19750","cancer_study_identifier":"pancan_pcawg_2020","mutation_variant":"R371Q","mutation_type":"Missense_Mutation","mutation_status":"NA","patient_unique_id":"pancan_pcawg_2020_DO9106"}]} ═ answer (success) Perfect! Now let me get a summary count: ## Summary Based on my query of the cBioPortal database, I found **11 samples** with any of the three SEPHS1 mutations you specified: ### Mutation Breakdown: - **p.Arg371Gln (R371Q):** 9 samples - **p.Arg371Trp (R371W):** 2 samples - **p.Arg371Gly (R371G):** 0 samples (not found in the database) ### Total: **11 samples** carrying either R371Q or R371W ### Distribution by Study: The 11 samples span multiple cancer cohorts: - **Colorectal/Adenocarcinoma (coadread/coad):** 7 samples (mostly TCGA and derived cohorts) - **Melanoma (mel_dfci_2019, mel_iatlas_liu_2019):** 2 samples - **Head & Neck Cancer (ohnca_cptac_gdc):** 1 sample - **Pan-cancer (pancan_pcawg_2020):** 1 sample **Note:** Some samples appear in multiple studies (e.g., TCGA-AA-A01S and TCGA-AG-3608 appear in both `coadread_tcga` and `coadread_tcga_pan_can_atlas_2018`), so the biological sample count may be slightly lower than 11.