Breast cancer often starts in the epithelial cells lining the milk ducts and lobules, but there are many subtypes that make it challenging to identify the cancer’s starting point within normal tissue. Researchers led by Nicholas Navin, Ph.D., developed a new single-cell DNA and RNA sequencing technology – called wellDR-seq – to identify ancestral breast cancer cells. By studying the impact of chromosome gains or losses on gene expression, the researchers were able to uncover the molecular aspects of why some breast cancers are more aggressive or invasive. The researchers profiled 33,646 single cells from 12 estrogen-receptor (ER)-positive breast cancers, quantifying the amount of certain genes that are actively expressed in tumor cells, as well as the number of copies of specific genes or chromosome segments and their genetic changes over time. These results provide insights into cancer initiation and invasion. While this technique was applied to cancer research, it can also be used to understand the molecular biology of other diseases.
Novel sequencing technology links DNA and RNA to provide molecular insights into breast cancer progression
