Author/Authors :
Ye, Baixin Department of Hematology - Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China , Gao, Qingping Department of Hematology - Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China , Zeng, Zhi Department of Pathology - Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China , Stary, Creed M. Department of Anesthesiology - Perioperative and Pain Medicine - Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA , Jian, Zhihong Department of Neurosurgery - Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China , Xiong, Xiaoxing Department of Neurosurgery - Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China , Gu, Lijuan Central Laboratory - Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Abstract :
Cellular heterogeneity is a fundamental characteristic of many cancers. A lack of cellular homogeneity contributes to difficulty in designing targeted oncological therapies. Therefore, the development of novel methods to determine and characterize oncologic cellular heterogeneity is a critical next step in the development of novel cancer therapies. Single-cell sequencing (SCS) technology has been recently employed for analyzing the genetic polymorphisms of individual cells at the genome-wide level. SCS requires (1) precise isolation of the single cell of interest; (2) isolation and amplification of genetic material; and (3) descriptive analysis of genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic data. In addition to targeted analysis of single cells isolated from tumor biopsies, SCS technology may be applied to circulating tumor cells, which may aid in predicting tumor progression and metastasis. In this paper, we provide an overview of SCS technology and review the current literature on the potential application of SCS to clinical oncology and research.
