Translational genomics in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: A review with re-analysis of TCGA dataset

Publication date: Available online 26 April 2018 Source:Seminars in Cancer Biology Author(s): Jeffery Ho, Xianchun Li, Lin Zhang, Yonghao Liang, Wei Hu, Johnny C.W. Yau, Hung Chan, Tony Gin, Matthew T.V. Chan, Gary Tse, William K.K. Wu Malignancy of the pancreas is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality, with the highest case-fatality of all cancers. Nevertheless, the lack of sensitive biomarkers and presence of biological heterogeneity precludes its early detection and effective treatment. The recent introduction of next-generation sequencing allows characterization of multiple driver mutations at genome- and exome-wide levels. Sequencing of DNA and RNA from circulating tumour cells has also opened an exciting era of non-invasive procedures for tumour detection and prognostication. This massively-parallel sequencing technology has uncovered the previously obscure molecular mechanisms, providing clues for better stratification of patients and identification of druggable targets for the disease. Identification of active oncogenic pathways and gene-gene interactions may reveal oncogene addiction and synthetic lethality. Relevant findings can be extrapolated to develop targeted and personalized therapeutic interventions. In addition to known mutational events, the role of chromosomal rearrangements in pancreatic neoplasms is gradually uncovered. Coupled with bioinformatics pipelines and epidemiological analyses, a better framework for risk stratification and pr...
Source: Seminars in Cancer Biology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research