Gene expression profiling of breast carcinomas using nylon DNA arrays

Clinically very heterogeneous, breast cancer prognosis and treatment response are difficult to predict with the current prognostic histoclinical parameters. Mammary oncogenesis remains poorly understood. DNA array technology allows the simultaneous analysis of the mRNA expression levels of thousands of genes in biological samples. Applied to breast tumours, expression profiles will boost our knowledge of oncogenesis, will offer new potential therapeutic targets and new prognostic and predictive markers. Today, the most accessible approach for academic research teams is that of Nylon DNA arrays with radioactive detection, which in addition allows profiling of small clinical samples.