Development of oncology drug response markers using transcription profiling

Transcriptional profiling of a tumor's entire genomic complement has become a key tool in the analysis of human cancers and identification of novel markers to predict disease state, outcome, and response to therapy. At present, this technology provides the most comprehensive approach for the analysis of somatic changes altering critical pathways during transformation of stable diploid cells into unstable tumor cells. Such analyses are impacting the development of novel anti-cancer drugs through the early detection of cancer, development of targeted therapies, identification of optimal dose and regimens for new drugs, and segmentation of patients to enrich response rates and reduce risk of adverse events.