Breast cancer breakthrough spotlights sequencing impact

New sequencing technology has helped researchers analyze the DNA of a breast cancer genome from a single patient at three different stages of development, offering scientists a revealing look at how breast cancer cells mutate as the disease develops. And the team that undertook the research program says that they were able to accomplish the sequencing feat in only a few weeks and at a relatively low cost--a breakthrough that heralds the potential impact of more efficient technologies on biomedical research.

Lead researcher Samuel Aparicio of Canada's British Columbia Cancer Agency told the AFP that his team was able to study the DNA of a woman's healthy cells, cells from inside a tumor when the cancer first developed, and cells from nine years later, when the cancer had metastasized. They found 32 DNA mutations in the metastasized cell, which offer new insights into how breast cancer can be treated and stopped.

Marco Marra, director of the Genome Sciences Centre, told reporters that the original genome sequencing program took years, but that scientists in this project were able to do the work in weeks "and at a fraction of the cost." In the near future, the expense will grow even smaller and it will only take days to sequence a genome, giving researchers a big edge in understanding how to treat diseases.

- read the story from the AFP

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