The Status and Impact of Clinical Tumor Genome Sequencing

Abstract

Since the discovery that DNA alterations initiate tumorigenesis, scientists and clinicians have been exploring ways to counter these changes with targeted therapeutics. The sequencing of tumor DNA was initially limited to highly actionable hot spots—areas of the genome that are frequently altered and have an approved matched therapy in a specific tumor type. Large-scale genome sequencing programs quickly developed technological improvements that enabled the deployment of whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing technologies at scale for pristine sample materials in research environments. However, the turning point for precision medicine in oncology was the innovations in clinical laboratories that improved turnaround time, depth of coverage, and the ability to reliably sequence archived, clinically available samples. Today, tumor genome sequencing no longer suffers from significant technical or financial hurdles, and the next opportunity for improvement lies in the optimal utilization of the technologies and data for many different tumor types.