title: Single cell analysis of cancer genomes.
abstract: Genomic studies have provided key insights into how cancers develop, evolve, metastasize and respond to treatment. Cancers result from an interplay between mutation, selection and clonal expansions. In solid tumours, this Darwinian competition between subclones is also influenced by topological factors. Recent advances have made it possible to study cancers at the single cell level. These methods represent important tools to dissect cancer evolution and provide the potential to considerably change both cancer research and clinical practice. Here we discuss state-of-the-art methods for the isolation of a single cell, whole-genome and whole-transcriptome amplification of the cell's nucleic acids, as well as microarray and massively parallel sequencing analysis of such amplification products. We discuss the strengths and the limitations of the techniques, and explore single-cell methodologies for future cancer research, as well as diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
authors: Cancer Genome Project, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK; Department of Human Genetics, VIB and KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Van Loo
authors: Laboratory of Reproductive Genomics, Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Single-Cell Genomics Centre, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton CB10 1SA, UK. Electronic address: Thierry.Voet@med.kuleuven.be.
authors: Thierry
authors: T
authors: Voet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D056915:DNA Copy Number Variations; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D017354:Point Mutation; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis; D059467:Transcriptome