Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Array Comparative Genomic Hybridization (Array CGH) for Detection of Genomic Copy Number Variants
Published on: February 21, 2015
The molecular genetics of breast cancer: the contribution of comparative genomic hybridization
Jorge S Reis-Filho1, Peter T Simpson, Theodora Gale
1The Breakthrough Toby Robins Breast Cancer Research Centre, Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK. jorgerf@icr.ac.uk
Abstract:
Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) has been the technique of choice over the last 10 years for mapping DNA copy number changes in human tumors. Here we review the literature to demonstrate how CGH has contributed to the comprehension of molecular aspects of breast tumorigenesis. At least two distinct molecular pathways of breast cancer have been characterized that show a strong correlation with histological grade. It seems that grade I invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs) arise from well-differentiated ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), whereas grade III IDCs come from poorly differentiated DCIS. In addition, dedifferentiation from a low- to a high-grade breast cancer has proven an unlikely phenomenon. CGH has been instrumental in dissecting distinct molecular pathways toward breast malignancy and in establishing a direct relationship between genotype and clinical pathological features.
Related Concept Videos
DNA Microarrays
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons
Karyotyping
Modern Molecular Taxonomy
Genomics
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell
