Application of next-generation sequencing in the diagnosis of gastric cancer

Abstract

Objectives: Gastric cancer (GC) is a disease with high mortality, poor prognosis and numerous risk factors. GC has an asymptomatic nature in early stages of the diseases, making timely diagnosis complicated using common conventional approaches, namely pathological examinations and imaging tests. Recently, molecular profiling of GC using next generation sequencing (NGS) has opened new doors to efficient prognostic, diagnostic, and therapeutic strategies. The current review aims to thoroughly discuss and compare the current NGS techniques and commercial platforms utilized for GC diagnosis and treatment, highlighting the most recent NGS-based GC studies. Furthermore, this review addresses the challenges of clinical implementation of NGS in GC.

Materials and methods: This review was conducted according to the eligible studies identified via search of Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Embase and the Cochrane Library. In the present study, data on gastric cancer patients and NGS methods used to diagnose the disease were reviewed.

Conclusion: Given the ever-rising advancements in NGS technologies, bioinformatics, healthcare guidelines and refined classifications, it is hoped that these technologies can actualize their advantages and optimize GC patients’ experience.

Keywords:

• Gastric cancer
• next-generation sequencing
• whole exome sequencing
• whole genome sequencing

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Sara Yousefi for designing the scientific illustrations of the present study.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Data availability statement

All data used during the present study are included in this manuscript and also available from the corresponding author.