Next Generation Sequencing

A new study in PNAS by Sugarbaker et al. describes deep sequencing of tumor cDNA using 454 sequencing technology. In the four examined patients, 15 nonsynonymous mutations were discovered: 7 were point mutations, 3 were deletions, 4 were exclusively expressed as a consequence of imputed epigenetic silencing, and 1 was putatively expressed as a consequence of RNA editing. Interestingly, each patient had a different mutation profile, and no mutated gene was previously implicated in the examined cancer type.

The Wall Street Journal has a piece on the study with some interesting perspecives.