Review
Expression genomics in breast cancer research: microarrays at the crossroads of biology and medicine
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* Corresponding author: Lance D Miller millerL@gis.a-star.edu
Genome Institute of Singapore, 60 Biopolis Street, #02-01, Singapore 138672
Breast Cancer Research 2007, 9:206 doi:10.1186/bcr1662
Published: 26 March 2007Abstract
Genome-wide expression microarray studies have revealed that the biological and clinical heterogeneity of breast cancer can be partly explained by information embedded within a complex but ordered transcriptional architecture. Comprising this architecture are gene expression networks, or signatures, reflecting biochemical and behavioral properties of tumors that might be harnessed to improve disease subtyping, patient prognosis and prediction of therapeutic response. Emerging 'hypothesis-driven' strategies that incorporate knowledge of pathways and other biological phenomena in the signature discovery process are linking prognosis and therapy prediction with transcriptional readouts of tumorigenic mechanisms that better inform therapeutic options.