From cytogenetics to next-generation sequencing technologies: advances in the detection of genome rearrangements in tumorsThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in this Special Issue, entitled CSBMCB — Systems and Chemical Biology, and has undergone the Journal's usual peer review process.

Genome rearrangements have long been recognized as hallmarks of human tumors and have been used to diagnose cancer. Techniques used to detect genome rearrangements have evolved from microscopic examinations of chromosomes to the more recent microarray-based approaches. The availability of next-generation sequencing technologies may provide a means for scrutinizing entire cancer genomes and transcriptomes at unparalleled resolution. Here we review the methods that have been used to detect genome rearrangements and discuss the scope and limitations of each approach. We end with a discussion of the potential that next-generation sequencing technologies may offer to the field.