A framework was developed for the collection of somatic variations to promote standards for annotations of somatic variation data, and to promote data integration with other data resources.
The recommendations were published in an article (Olivier et al., 2009) including Minimum Information About Somatic Mutation (MIASM).

These guidelines are targeted to researchers, clinicians, epidemiologists, database curators, bioinformaticians, journal editors, and funding bodies.

The MIASM criteria were updated by the original authors. In addition to the MIASM, several types of annotations are very useful for advanced data mining. These elements, with recommended standards for nomenclature, are listed, as well.

For the correct interpretation of cancer-specific variation patterns, a minimum set of information is needed, on the variation itself, the method of detection and the tumor sample. This basic information should be included in any report on cancer-related variations.

The MIASM contains the following components:

• Gene name: HUGO approved name
• Reference sequence: NCBI accession number or GI number
• Published/unpublished nature of data: citation or source of data
• Study design (consecutive series, case-control, prospective, clinical trial, etc.)
• Nature and number of tumor samples analyzed
• Geographic location or name of hospital(s) where samples have been obtained
• Variation detection method
• Gene portion that has been screened for variations
• Quality control procedure (variation must be confirmed by repeating sequencing on a new PCR product)
• Assessment of somatic origin (variation searched or not in blood or normal tissue)
• Variation description: DNA or RNA position and nucleotide change (nomenclature should be compliant with HGVS standards)
• Sample: topography, morphology, nature, and source
• Patient: country of hospital admission

For further details see the table.

MIASM is included in the Biosharing portal for biological standards, databases and policies.