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Cancer genome sequencing is the whole genome sequencing of a single, homogeneous or heterogeneous group of cancer cells. It is a biochemical laboratory method for the characterization and identification of the DNA or RNA sequences of cancer cell.
Unlike whole genome sequencing which is typically from blood cells, such as J. Craig Venter's and James D. Watson’s WG sequencing projects, saliva, epithelial cells or bone - cancer genome sequencing involves direct sequencing of primary tumor tissue, adjacent or distal normal tissue, the tumor micro environment such as fibroblast/stromal cells, or metastatic tumor sites.
Similar to whole genome sequencing, the information generated from this technique include: identification of nucleotide bases , copy number and sequence variants, mutation status, and structural changes such as chromosomal translocations and fusion genes.
Cancer genome sequencing is not limited to WG sequencing and can also include exome, transcriptome, micronome sequencing, and end-sequence profiling. These methods can be used to quantify gene expression, miRNA expression, and identify alternative splicing events in addition to sequence data.