Gene Sequencing of Tumours

Most tumours result from somatic DNA mutation events or, more rarely, from constitutional genetic abnormalities. In both cases, next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies may contribute to a better understanding of tumorigenesis.

Presently, the number of tumour mutations searched for to treat a given patient is limited in conventional clinical practice. Although high-throughput sequencing technologies are able to identify these mutations, their clinical utility, compared to that of the other gene-sequencing methods, is not apparent because of the required throughput. A rigorous efficiency analysis would be necessary before their clinical implementation.