Cancer Genomics
Advances in cancer genomics are delivering critical insights into all stages of tumor progression. Illumina technology and informatics help you see the bigger picture quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively. With Illumina on your team, you can go both deep and wide into cancer genomics with whole-genome studies, targeted gene profiling, gene expression, and epigenetic analysis.
Cancer begins when certain genes within normal cells mutate, resulting in unregulated cell growth. As cancer progresses, cells accumulate additional somatic mutations and propagate to form new cancer clones. As a result, most advanced cancers are polyclonal. Since each of these clones will have a unique response to therapy and risk of metastasis, a complete understanding of all tumor clones is important.
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Germline Mutations
Germline mutations that predispose individuals to cancer can be detected through a variety of approaches, ranging from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) that enable a large number of samples to be analyzed at once, to targeted sequencing that offers higher resolution analysis at a lower throughput. Learn more about germline mutations »
Somatic Mutations
Tumor/normal sequencing studies are critical to distinguish the unique somatic mutations accrued by a tumor from germline mutations that are also present in the surrounding normal tissue. Illumina sequencers offer the speed and accuracy required to detect these mutations, either through whole-genome sequencing (WGS) or by focusing on specific regions or genes using whole-exome or targeted gene sequencing. Learn more about somatic mutations »
Gene Expression & Epigenetic Changes
Monitoring changes in the transcriptome and epigenome yields data that can help answer research questions about disease classification, prognosis, treatment selection and response, and disease progression. A variety of sequencing and microarray approaches are available for researchers to detect these changes. Learn more about gene expression & epigenetic changes »
Cancer Sequencing Methods
Illumina makes cost-effective cancer research possible. NGS (next-generation sequencing) enables researchers to perform comprehensive whole-genome studies, targeted gene profiling, gene expression, and epigenetic studies on polyclonal tumor samples at a pace unheard of a few years ago. Learn more about cancer sequencing methods »
NGS: Solving the Cancer Puzzle
Read about how NGS-based cancer studies can provide researchers with a deeper understanding of tumor biology.
Learn about NGS & Cancer »
Cancer Papers of the Month
Drs Caldas, Rosenfeld, & Brenton
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Read paper:
Non-invasive analysis of acquired resistance to cancer therapy by sequencing of plasma DNA
For Research Use Only.
Quote attributed to Drs Caldas, Rosenfeld, & Brenton:
“Noninvasive genomic analysis of cancer through circulating cell-free DNA turns out to be highly informative. This has so far proven to have great potential in both cancer research and diagnostics.”
Read paper: Non-invasive analysis of acquired resistance to cancer therapy by sequencing of plasma DNA