Comparative genomic hybridization as a tool in tumour cytogenetics

The quality of cytogenetic analysis of solid tumours has greatly improved in the past decade, but a number of technical difficulties remain which limit the characterization of solid tumour chromosomes by conventional cytogenetics alone. The identification of regions of chromosomal abnormality has been aided by the introduction of molecular cytogenetic techniques such as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Of these, a recently developed approach, comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), has had a particular impact on the cytogenetic analysis of solid tumours. It incorporates the sensitivity of in situ techniques and overcomes many of the drawbacks of conventional cytogenetic analysis. This review first outlines the CGH method, giving details for the preparation of DNA probes and target human metaphase chromosomes together with information on the in situ technique and data handling criteria used in our laboratory. It then presents an overview of some of the current applications of CGH, together with a discussion of future directions in the field.