Researchers may be one step closer to uncovering the science behind cancer cells and how to treat the disease.
Using new technologies that make it easier to sequence the human genome, researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a series of genes that become fused when their chromosomes trade places with each other. These recurrent gene fusions are thought to be the driving mechanism that causes certain cancers to develop.
The gene fusions discovered could potentially serve as a marker one day for diagnosing cancer or as a target for future drug development.
Source:Science Daily, New Technology for Detecting Gene Fusions Opens Field in Cancer Research