Mapping Single-Cell Transcriptomes to Copy Number Evolutionary Trees

Pedro F. Ferreira, Jack Kuipers, Niko Beerenwinkel

Abstract: Cancer is an evolutionary process in which cells accumulate mutations and form different subclones with potentially varying phenotypes. The diversity of cell states that make up a tumor is caused by genomic and epigenomic changes, as well as interactions with its microenvironment. The resulting intra-tumor heterogeneity is a major cause of treatment failure and relapse. In particular, the manner in which different genomic changes, as opposed to other factors, contribute to cell-specific states is highly relevant in treatment decision making, but remains an open question.