Genomic sequence of a cancer patient

Washington University Scientists First to Sequence Genome of Cancer Patient
By comparing the genomes of a patient's healthy and cancerous cells, researchers can detect genetic alterations that are relevant to the disease.

In this study,
"The researchers discovered just 10 genetic mutations in the patient's tumor DNA that appeared to be relevant to her disease; eight of the mutations were rare and occurred in genes that had never been linked to AML. They also showed that virtually every cell in the tumor sample had nine of the mutations, and that the single genetic alteration that occurred less frequently was likely the last to be acquired."

This genome-wide analysis approach will give insights into the mutations that appear in cancerous cells that were previously not detected by other methods. Because it is important to study the system and gene networks that are involved in diseases, this type of analysis, I believe, will lead to great advancements in cancer research.