Epigenomic tumor evolution under the spotlight: the promises of single-cell approaches.

Abstract

Cancer evolution was long-reduced to a genetic equation. The latest technological and subsequent conceptual advances, catalyzed by single-cell approaches, now begin to reveal the long-suspected part played by epigenomic and transcriptomic mechanisms in cancer evolution. Lie ahead numerous challenges to integrate multi-modal measurements of individual cancer cells over time and space, while aiming for better disease management and the discovery of therapeutic targets and biomarkers.