A new study on tumour evolution and spread carried out by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory(CSHL) has found out that tumours wont evolve gradually,but they do it in a punctuated manner(bursts).It is a finding that has already shed new light on the process of tumor growth and metastasis, and may help in the development of new methods to clinically evaluate tumors.
The new analytic method, devised by CSHL Professor Michael Wigler and colleagues, features a process called single cell sequencing (SNS), which enables accurate quantification of genomic copy number within a single cell nucleus. Genomic copy number refers to the amount of DNA in the nucleus. In cancer, portions of the genome are amplified or deleted, giving rise to extra or missing copies of key genes and interfering with mechanisms that normally control cell growth.
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