Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026
08:16
Comparative Lesions Analysis Through a Targeted Sequencing Approach
Published on: November 5, 2019
Inferring tumor progression from genomic heterogeneity.
Nicholas Navin1, Alexander Krasnitz, Linda Rodgers
1Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724, USA.
Genome Research
|November 12, 2009
Summary
Heterogeneous breast tumors reveal cancer progression pathways. Sector-Ploidy-Profiling (SPP) analyzes clonal subpopulations, showing polygenomic tumors arise from a few key clones, not gradual changes.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Genomics
- Cancer Biology
Background:
- Inferring human cancer progression is challenging due to limited multi-stage sampling.
- Heterogeneous breast tumors offer insights into tumor evolution by preserving early and intermediate subpopulations.
- Phylogenetic relationships within tumors provide a roadmap for understanding clonal evolution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and apply a novel method for analyzing the clonal composition of breast tumors.
- To investigate the genomic structural variations and heterogeneity within breast carcinomas.
- To infer pathways of cancer progression and tumor growth organization.
Main Methods:
- Sector-Ploidy-Profiling (SPP) was developed, involving tumor macro-dissection and flow-sorting of genomic subpopulations by DNA content.
- Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) was used to profile the genomes of sorted subpopulations.
- Analysis focused on distinguishing monogenomic and polygenomic tumor classes.
Main Results:
- Breast carcinomas were classified into monogenomic (single, stable clone) and polygenomic (multiple clones) types.
- Polygenomic tumors exhibit heterogeneity arising from a few dominant clonal subpopulations, not gradual intermediates.
- Comparison of subpopulations across different tumor locations elucidated progression pathways.
Conclusions:
- Sector-Ploidy-Profiling (SPP) is an effective method for dissecting tumor clonal architecture.
- Tumor heterogeneity in polygenomic breast cancers is driven by a limited number of key clonal expansions.
- This study provides a framework for understanding cancer progression and tumor organization through clonal analysis.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:07Tumor Progression
Tumor progression is a phenomenon where the pre-formed tumor acquires successive mutations to become clinically more aggressive and malignant. In the 1950s, Foulds first described the stepwise progression of cancer cells through successive stages.
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
02:07Tumor Progression
Tumor progression is a phenomenon where the pre-formed tumor acquires successive mutations to become clinically more aggressive and malignant. In the 1950s, Foulds first described the stepwise progression of cancer cells through successive stages.
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...