S5.12 In the blood: using circulating DNA to detect and monitor cancer
Genetics Unzipped
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Tumor Heterogeneity
Tumor heterogeneity essentially means that cells are different within the same tumor. They derive from a common ancestor, a common canser stem cell,. And we call those mutations the trunk mutations. Those are the mutations found in every tumor cell. And then there are mutations found in some cells but not others. Depending on where you put your biopse needle and depending on which part of the tumour you subject to na sequencing, you get a different result. We're now absolutely without a shadow of lat so perhaps we've conventionally had this idea the cancer, it starts from cells growing out of control. It's a mass of cells, they they grow, they spread through the body,
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