Advanced topics in array comparative genomic hybridization for diagnosis of hereditary breast cancer

Array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) is an efficient approach for scanning entire genomes to seek variations in genomic copy number variations, genotyping and medical genetics. It is changing from being only a research tool to being a tool for clinical diagnostics in patients with cancer, global developmental delay, mental retardation, autism, multiple congenital anomalies and dysmorphism, and is becoming a powerful tool in disease gene discovery and prenatal diagnostics. This tool is also showing promising data in cancer research and in the diagnosis, classification and prognosis of hereditary breast cancer. This presentation discusses the techniques available for aCGH analysis and possible approaches for using aCGH as a tool for the identification of hereditary breast cancer.