The value of new high-throughput technologies for diagnosis and prognosis in solid tumors

Issue title: An update from the Romanian international meeting “Cancer molecular pathobiology in the clinics: Highlights”

Guest editors: Ioana Berindan Neagoex and Angelo Paradisoy

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Pinto, Rosamaria^a | De Summa, Simona^a | Petriella, Daniela^a | Tudoran, Oana^b | Danza, Katia^a | Tommasi, Stefania^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] National Cancer Research Centre “Giovanni Paolo II”, Bari, Italy | [b] The Oncology Institute “Prof. Dr. Ion Chiricuta”, Cluj-Napoca, Romania | [x] The University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iuliu Hatieganu, Cluj, Napoca, Romania | [y] National Cancer Research Center, Istituto Tumori G Paolo II, IRCCS, Bari, Italy

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Stefania Tommasi, Molecular Genetics Laboratory, Istituto Tumori "Giovanni Paolo II" v.le Orazio Flacco 65, 70124 Bari, Italy. Tel.: +39 0805555283; E-mail: s.tommasi@oncologico.bari.it

Abstract: Advances in our understanding of the molecular basis of tumors, as well as in the technology of DNA analysis, are rapidly changing the landscape of these diseases. Traditional approaches such as sequencing methods and arrays have too many limits. These have been overcome by the advent of next generation sequencing (NGS) methods which facilitate and accelerate the analysis of multiple genes and samples. These technologies allow new applications in molecular biology and medicine, for example precise analysis of RNA transcripts for gene expression; profiling of small RNAs, DNA methylation patterns and histone modification analysis; identification of splicing isoforms and of DNA regions that interact with regulatory proteins; pharmacogenomics studies and so on. In this review we describe recent applications of NGS in genomics, transcriptomics and epigenomics for a better comprehension of solid tumor metabolisms.

Keywords: Next generation sequencing, genomics, transcriptomics and epigenomics

DOI: 10.3233/CBM-130328

Journal: Cancer Biomarkers, vol. 14, no. 2-3, pp. 103-117, 2014