Abstract
If you've not yet heard of Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH), you
will soon. This fast growing technique for analyzing genomic information by
focusing on the differences in the number of sequence copies is firmly
established in basic research and is making swift inroads into the clinic.
Peggy Eis, PhD, director of the array CGH business at NimbleGen contends that
"Information from SNPs is not the only way to look at the genome." Copy Number
Polymorphisms (CNPs) will become a valuable tool for defining relative
phenotypes in a population. CGH will eventually play a significant role in the
$10 billion molecular diagnostics market, not least in tracking the
pathogenesis of, and detecting and monitoring cancer.
Comparative Genomic Hybridization: Current State and Future Directions
explains the technology, assesses its limitations and challenges, compares it
to prevailing analytical approaches, and examines CGH's current and impending
applications in human health care. Among the findings in this report:
CGH is well positioned, particularly in view of some recent acquisitions, to
dominate the $1.5 billion cytogenetics market, including conventional
chromosome banding and FISH.
- CGH's first health care applications are in assisted reproductive
technologies, prenatal diagnosis, and diagnosing inherited developmental
disorders. Combimatrix will offer molecular diagnostic tests for mental
retardation that incorporate CGH and gene expression profiling.
- As its precision and reliability are proven, CGH will make further inroads
into the clinic. For instance, it will provide clinicians with a way to
stratify cancers, revealing distinct subgroups based on CGH pattern \ a first
step toward personalized medicine.
- There has been considerable recent growth in model organism CGH \
identifying knockouts, mapping the deletion mutants, and using CGH to home in.
A survey (N=66) conducted by CHA in August 2006 of individuals involved with
CGH at biopharmaceutical and diagnostic firms, vendors of equipment and
services, and academic research departments sheds light on current practices
and future directions in the use of CGH in pharmaceutical R&D.
Among the highlights:
- Cancer leads all other CGH applications in both basic research and in the
clinic
- 94% of respondents believe that CGH will become a routine part of clinical
testing within the next 5 years, with 42% predicting a 2-year time frame.
A surge in the use of CGH will not only benefit life science researchers - it
will also provide tool vendors with an opportunity to sell specialized arrays
and other technologies for whole genome profiling. Comparative Genomic
Hybridization: Current State and Future Directions profiles the major vendors
and their CGH product offerings. The report concludes with in-depth interviews
with experts in industry and academia, providing authoritative insight into
the scientific, medical, and commercial aspects of CGH.
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