ISSN: 2640-2637
Authors: Chandel V and Kumar D*
Tumor heterogeneity refers to the coexistence of cellular subpopulations bearing different epigenetic or genetic alterations within the tumor as a whole (intracellular tumor heterogeneity) and in different cells of the same patient referred to as secondary tumors/metastatic sites. This is clinically relevant because the bulk tumor mass may comprised of collection of cancer cells with varying levels of sensitivity to treatment and distinct molecular signatures. Tumor heterogeneity can also exist between the same cancer from different patients (inter-tumor heterogeneity) and within a single tumor (intra-tumor heterogeneity). Cancer cell heterogeneity introduces emerging challenges in classifying patients that might benefit from specific therapies or using molecular prognostic markers. Thus efforts in research for characterizing heterogeneity would be useful for a better understanding of the causes and progression of the disease. In the field of molecular diagnostics constituting tumor genotyping and blood based methods, recent advances allows the detection of clonal evolution in patients suffering from cancer.
Keywords: Heterogeneity; Tumor Microenvironment; Circulating Tumor Cells
