Measurement and relevance of neuroblastoma DNA copy number changes in the post-genome era

The completion of the human genome sequence and the development of high throughput technology present exciting opportunities for the study of cancer cells. High-resolution analysis of chromosomal aberrations provides a global framework for understanding complex patterns in cancer cells, allowing us to ask hypothesis-driven questions. Genome-wide analysis of amplification and deletion of genomic regions is a critical step to resolving the mechanisms of neuroblastoma tumorigenesis. We used a high-resolution aCGH system that has over 4000 human BAC clones, resulting in an average coverage of 1 Mb across the genome, to define whole genome copy number aberrations (CNAs) in a panel of human neuroblastoma-derived cell lines. By combining the aCGH data with meticulous regional validation studies, we showed that array CGH could reliably detect known aberrations including single copy gain or loss, that data correlate well with standard techniques used for the detection of these genetic changes, and that this technique can be used to identify novel regions of genomic imbalance.