Chromosomal Rearrangements Help Distinguish Between Independent Primary Tumors and Metastasis

A diagnostic test based on chromosomal rearrangements can trace the lineage of lung cancer to determine whether two separate lung cancers in the same patient are independent tumors or a tumor that has spread to another region of the lung, a Mayo Clinic study has found. For patients with multiple tumors, that distinction could mean the difference between early stage cancer that may be cured by surgery and incurable late-stage disease. The research is published this week in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Dennis Wigle, the study's senior author, comments