Research theme 03
Single-Cell Analysis & Tumour Heterogeneity
Cellular diversity, subpopulations, spatial or cellular context where data permit, and tumour heterogeneity.
Proposed research direction A direction KPCIRC proposes to explore. Not yet an established programme.
Tumours are rarely uniform. Different cell populations can carry different alterations and behave differently under treatment. Single-cell and spatial methods offer ways to describe this diversity, where suitable data exist. This theme is proposed as a research direction rather than a current service.
Questions of interest
- How does subclonal diversity affect the reading of bulk sequencing reports?
- Which heterogeneity patterns might explain discordance between samples or over time?
- What data are needed before single-cell findings can inform clinical questions?
Approaches
- Review of published single-cell and spatial datasets
- Linking heterogeneity concepts to bulk-report interpretation
- Defining data and consent requirements for future studies
Connection to clinical services
Conceptually related to CloneTrace, which reads variant distribution and tumour content in submitted reports.
Limitations
- Single-cell research findings are not routinely available for individual clinical decisions.
- Heterogeneity seen in one sample may not represent the whole disease.
Projects and outputs
No verified projects or publications are listed for this theme yet.