title: Tumour Heterogeneity: The Key Advantages of Single-Cell Analysis.
abstract: Tumour heterogeneity refers to the fact that different tumour cells can show distinct morphological and phenotypic profiles, including cellular morphology, gene expression, metabolism, motility, proliferation and metastatic potential. This phenomenon occurs both between tumours (inter-tumour heterogeneity) and within tumours (intra-tumour heterogeneity), and it is caused by genetic and non-genetic factors. The heterogeneity of cancer cells introduces significant challenges in using molecular prognostic markers as well as for classifying patients that might benefit from specific therapies. Thus, research efforts for characterizing heterogeneity would be useful for a better understanding of the causes and progression of disease. It has been suggested that the study of heterogeneity within Circulating Tumour Cells (CTCs) could also reflect the full spectrum of mutations of the disease more accurately than a single biopsy of a primary or metastatic tumour. In previous years, many high throughput methodologies have raised for the study of heterogeneity at different levels (i.e., RNA, DNA, protein and epigenetic events). The aim of the current review is to stress clinical implications of tumour heterogeneity, as well as current available methodologies for their study, paying specific attention to those able to assess heterogeneity at the single cell level.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Hematologia Oncologica y de Transplantes, Institut Investigacions Biomèdiques (IBB) Sant Pau, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, 08025 Barcelona, Spain. mtellez@santpau.cat.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tellez-Gabriel
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Unit 957, Pathophysiology of Bone Resorption and Therapy of Primary Bone Tumours, Equipe Ligue 2012, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nantes, Nantes 44035, France. benjamin.ory@univ-nantes.fr.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ory
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Unit 957, Pathophysiology of Bone Resorption and Therapy of Primary Bone Tumours, Equipe Ligue 2012, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nantes, Nantes 44035, France. francois.lamoureux@univ-nantes.fr.
authors.forename: Francois
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lamoureux
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Unit 957, Pathophysiology of Bone Resorption and Therapy of Primary Bone Tumours, Equipe Ligue 2012, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nantes, Nantes 44035, France. m.heymann@sheffield.ac.uk.|Department of Oncology and Metabolism, Medical School, University of Sheffield, Beech Hill Road, Sheffield S10 2RX, UK. m.heymann@sheffield.ac.uk.|European Associated Laboratory, INSERM, Sarcoma Research Unit, Medical School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2RX, UK. m.heymann@sheffield.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Marie-Francoise
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Heymann
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Unit 957, Pathophysiology of Bone Resorption and Therapy of Primary Bone Tumours, Equipe Ligue 2012, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nantes, Nantes 44035, France. dominique.heymann@sheffield.ac.uk.|Department of Oncology and Metabolism, Medical School, University of Sheffield, Beech Hill Road, Sheffield S10 2RX, UK. dominique.heymann@sheffield.ac.uk.|European Associated Laboratory, INSERM, Sarcoma Research Unit, Medical School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2RX, UK. dominique.heymann@sheffield.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Heymann
mesh_terms: D018740:Genetic Heterogeneity; D006801:Humans; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000473:pathology*; D010641:Phenotype; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis / Q000379:methods*
keywords: circulating tumour cells; heterogeneity; single cells