Genome interrupted: sequencing of prostate cancer reveals the importance of chromosomal rearrangements

A recent study involving whole genome sequencing of seven prostate cancers has provided the first comprehensive assessment of genomic changes that underlie this common malignancy. Point mutations were found to be infrequent but changes in chromosome structure were common. Rearrangements were linked to chromatin organization and associated with regions involved in transcription factor binding. Novel candidate prostate cancer genes were also identified, highlighting the importance of genome sequencing to identify oncogenic changes that are otherwise invisible to detection.