DNA Microarrays as a Tool in Cancer Research

DNA microarray technology has been rapidly
adopted by biomedical researchers and emerged as a promising
research method in studies of human cancer. In many cases in
silico data alone is not sufficient to identify a cancer
predisposing gene, but when used together with other methods
such as linkage analysis and functional studies this becomes
a very prominent tool. This study describes various methods
used in microarray technology and how the technology was
utilized in studies of certain hereditary cancers together
with supporting methods and technologies. Although DNA
microarrays are used primarily in research, clinical
applications are foreseeable and slowly emerging. This study
should give more insight to the potential of microarrays as
a tool for cancer research. The book should be especially
useful for undergraduate or graduate students in the field
of molecular biology or cancer research who wish to know
more about the microarray technology and how it may be used
in conjunction with other methods in genetics, or for anyone
else who may be interested in microarray experiments.