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Abstract

Cancer is a heterogeneous and highly complex disease of the genome. Sequencing cancer genome to detect genetic aberrations is the hallmark of precision cancer medicine. In the past, Sanger sequencing and pyrosequencing, the gold standard conventional sequencing techniques were used extensively for cancer genome analysis. These low and medium-throughput sequencing technologies dominated the clinical arena until the recent development of next generation sequencing technologies (NGS) that have revolutionized the field of clinical cancer genomics. Massively parallel sequencing capacity of NGS facilitates simultaneous screening of large areas of the genome in multiple samples. The combination of high-throughput capability, decreased costs and clinical utility has led to widespread and rapid adoption and integration of NGS-based mutational analysis into the real-time management of patients with cancer. However, the implementation of NGS in a clinical laboratory presents challenges due to complexity associated with technology as well as the data analysis and medico-legal implications of the data generated. This presentation will discuss the advantages and challenges associated with clinical NGS implementation in routine diagnostics and the utility of unprecedented potential of NGS as the new �gold standard� to explore cancer genome evolution and tumor heterogeneity.

Biography

Email: rluthra@mdanderson.org