Transcriptome sequencing to detect gene fusions in cancer

Prostate cancer link Recurrent gene fusions, typically associated with haematological malignancies and rare bone and soft-tissue tumours, have recently been described in common solid tumours. Using a combination of new-generation long- and short-read sequencing technologies, Chinnaiyan and colleagues analyse cancer samples for gene fusion transcripts. The approach uncovers transcripts arising from known gene fusions in leukaemia and prostate cancer, as well as novel ones in prostate cancer, including a recurrent transcript SCL45A3-ELK4 that would not have been found using conventional methods.