Genome changes and gene expression in human solid tumors

Genome-wide analysis techniques such as chromosome painting, comparative genomic hybridization, representational difference analysis, restriction landmark genome scanning and high-throughput analysis of LOH are now accelerating high-resolution genome aberration localization in human tumors. These techniques are complemented by procedures for detection of differentially expressed genes such as differential display, nucleic acid subtraction, serial analysis of gene expression and expression microarray analysis. These efforts are enabled by work from the human genome program in physical map development, cDNA library production/sequencing and in genome sequencing. This review covers several commonly used large-scale genome and gene expression analysis techniques, outlines genomic approaches to gene discovery and summarizes information that has come from large-scale analyses of human solid tumors.