Application of Chromosomal Instability in Early Diagnosis of Biliary Tract Carcinoma

Chromosomal instability (CIN) refers to ongoing chromosome segregation errors throughout consecutive cell divisions. CIN is a hallmark of human cancer, and it is associated with poor prognosis, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance. Analyzing CIN of the DNA extracted from cast-off cells in bile samples seems a promising method for diagnosing, monitoring, and predicting the prognosis of biliary tract carcinoma patients. CIN can be assessed using experimental techniques such as bulk DNA sequencing, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), or conventional karyotyping. However, these techniques are either time-consuming or non-specific. The investigators here intend to study whether a new method named Bile Ultrasensitive Chromosomal Aneuploidy Detection (BileCAD), which is based on low-coverage whole-genome sequencing, can be used to analyze CIN and microbial infection analysis thus help diagnosing and treating biliary tract carcinoma patients.