b'Microarrays have been a cornerstone technology for nucleic acidReferencesexpression analysis for over 20 years. They remain a valuable1.Baylin SB, Jones PA. Epigenetic Determinants of Cancer. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2016;8(9):a019505. Published 2016 Sep 1. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a019505tool for investigating the implications of genetic regulatory2.Islam F, Pillai S, Gopalan V, et al. Identification of Novel Mutations and Expressions mechanisms in cancer. For example, miRNAs are knownof EPAS1 in Phaeochromocytomas and Paragangliomas. Genes (Basel). to regulate the transition of epithelial cells to mesenchymal2020;11(11):1254. Published 2020 Oct 24. doi:10.3390/genes11111254cells (epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, EMT). EMT is an3.Nakayama M, Hong CP, Oshima H, et al. Loss of wild-type p53 promotes mutant p53-driven metastasis through acquisition of survival and tumor-initiating essential process in enabling dissipation of cancer cells [10].properties. Nat Commun. 2020;11(1):2333. Published 2020 May 11. doi:10.1038/Colonization of cancer cells into a neoplastic mass is alsos41467-020-16245-1essential for metastasis. The mechanism of mesenchymal-to- 4.Chang SC, Li AF, Lin PC, et al. Clinicopathological and molecular profiles of sporadic microsatellite unstable colorectal cancer with or without the CpG island methylator epithelial transition (MET) has been proposed as a contributorPhenotype (CIMP). Cancers (Basel). 2020;12(11):3487. Published 2020 Nov 23. to colonization. However, less is known about the moleculardoi:10.3390/cancers12113487mechanisms of MET compared to EMT. Xu et al. explored the5.Fawzy MS, Ibrahiem AT, AlSel BTA, et al. Analysis of microRNA-34a expression profile and rs2666433 variant in colorectal cancer: a pilot study. Sci Rep. 2020;10(1):16940. role of miRNA in MET in liver-metastasized CRC. Liver metastasisPublished 2020 Oct 9. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-73951-yis the most common cause of death in patients with CRC. In6.Senga SS, Grose RP. Hallmarks of cancer-the new testament. Open Biol. this study, Xu et al. profiled miRNA expression levels in CRC2021;11(1):200358. doi:10.1098/rsob.200358cells using RT-qPCR with Applied Biosystems TaqMan human7.Cheng LY, Haydu LE, Song P, et al. High sensitivity sanger sequencing detection of BRAF mutations in metastatic melanoma FFPE tissue specimens. Sci Rep. miRNA microarrays that contained probes for all known mature2021;11(1):9043. Published 2021 Apr 27. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-88391-5miRNAs. This study revealed a decrease in the rate of invasion of8.Iorio MV, Croce CM. Causes and consequences of microRNA dysregulation [published CRC cells in liver that corresponded to upregulation of a miRNAcorrection appears in Cancer J. 2020 Nov/Dec;26(6):561]. Cancer J. 2012;18(3):215-222. doi:10.1097/PPO.0b013e318250c001that was derived from hepatocyte exosomes, suggesting an9.Shin E, Jin H, Suh DS, et al. An alternative miRISC targets a cancer-associated important role for miRNA in liver metastasis in CRC [10].coding sequence mutation in FOXL2 [published correction appears in EMBO J. 2021 Aug 16;40(16):e108163]. EMBO J. 2020;39(24):e104719. doi:10.15252/embj.2020104719Conclusions and outlook 10.Xu H, Lan Q, Huang Y, et al. The mechanisms of colorectal cancer cell mesenchymal-Every new genetic mutation that is discovered to influenceepithelial transition induced by hepatocyte exosome-derived miR-203a-3p. BMC malignancy is a potential target for improvements in cancerCancer. 2021;21(1):718. Published 2021 Jun 19. doi:10.1186/s12885-021-08419-xtherapy. Thorough characterization of the impact a mutation has on malignancy is the most powerful determinant in revealing how it may contribute to improved cancer medicine. Genetic technologies such as qPCR, capillary electrophoresis, and microarrays are advancing rapidly to enable researchers to dig deeper into various mechanisms of malignancy and drive novel discoveries toward cancer characterization and pathogenesis.Thermo Fisher Scientific is committed to providing cancer researchers with powerful genetics solutions that help enable them to pursue the greatest expectations of precision cancer medicine, ultimately providing more personalized treatment strategies and better patient outcomes in the future. Thermo Fisher can help you achieve your most exciting cancer research goals with a full range of cancer genomics and transcriptomics solutions.Uncover cryptic cancer heterogeneity by qPCR, dPCR, NGS, or CEExtract precise data from limited and challenging samples such as formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue, precious solid-tumor biopsy samples, or liquid biopsies, by dPCR or qPCRObtain key insights from multiple perspectives provided by different technologiesContents 4'