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Comment
. 2013 Nov;123(11):4568-70.
doi: 10.1172/JCI70935. Epub 2013 Oct 25.

"N of 1" case reports in the era of whole-genome sequencing

A Rose Brannon, Charles L Sawyers
Comment

"N of 1" case reports in the era of whole-genome sequencing

A Rose Brannon et al. J Clin Invest. 2013 Nov.

Abstract

Prostate cancer has a range of clinical outcomes, from complete remission in response to treatment to death as a result of aggressive metastasis. Prognosis for individuals with prostate cancer is not readily predictable, and new diagnostics will be useful for treatment strategy determination. In this issue of the JCI, Haffner and colleagues use comprehensive tumor genome sequencing to investigate the origin of genetic mutations underlying a case of lethal prostate cancer. Surprisingly, the lethal clone in this individual arose from a tumor focus that is typically considered very low risk based on histology. Their report highlights the need to collect and curate "N of 1" cases to develop a database that can be used for clinical decision making.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The potential for “N of 1” studies to benefit clinical practice will require collection of these cases into databases.
Genomics is a powerful tool for mapping tumor progression/evolution with great precision in individuals. Collecting these “N of 1” cases into a common database will help identify common patterns and enable more robust conclusions about cancer diagnosis and progression.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

  • Tracking the clonal origin of lethal prostate cancer.
    Haffner MC, Mosbruger T, Esopi DM, Fedor H, Heaphy CM, Walker DA, Adejola N, Gürel M, Hicks J, Meeker AK, Halushka MK, Simons JW, Isaacs WB, De Marzo AM, Nelson WG, Yegnasubramanian S. Haffner MC, et al. J Clin Invest. 2013 Nov;123(11):4918-22. doi: 10.1172/JCI70354. Epub 2013 Oct 25. J Clin Invest. 2013. PMID: 24135135 Free PMC article.

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