Abstract
Tumorigenesis refers to the process of clonal dysplasia that occurs due to the collapse of normal growth regulation in cells caused by the action of various carcinogenic factors. These “successful” tumor cells pass on the genetic templates to their generations in evolutionary terms, but they also constantly adapt to ever-changing host environments. A unique peculiarity known as intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) is extensively involved in tumor development, metastasis, chemoresistance, and immune escape. An understanding of ITH is urgently required to identify the diversity and complexity of the tumor microenvironment (TME), but achieving this understanding has been a challenge. Single-cell sequencing (SCS) is a powerful tool that can gauge the distribution of genomic sequences in a single cell and the genetic variability among tumor cells, which can improve the understanding of ITH. SCS provides fundamental ideas about existing diversity in specific TMEs, thus improving cancer diagnosis and prognosis prediction, as well as improving the monitoring of therapeutic response. Herein, we will discuss advances in SCS and review SCS application in tumors based on current evidence.
Highlights
It has been stated that inactivation of oncogenes boosts cancer remission, implying that oncogenes are the Achilles’ heel of cancers independent of the cellular heterogeneity remaining within the tumor
Layilin inhibited the activation of CD8+ T cells but activated Tregs and might be a potential agent for immunotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) [41]. These findings demonstrated that CD8+ T-cell failure can be a hallmark of hepatocarcinogenesis, which may be instrumental for the development of novel approaches for effective immunotherapy for HCC
Improvements in strategies such as template switching, second-strand synthesis for in vitro transcription mediated by RNaseH/DNA polymerase I, and poly (A) tagging have led to better quantitative performance of Single-cell sequencing (SCS) [110]
Summary
Tumorigenesis refers to the process of clonal dysplasia that occurs due to the collapse of normal growth regulation in cells caused by the action of various carcinogenic factors. These “successful” tumor cells pass on the genetic templates to their generations in evolutionary terms, but they constantly adapt to ever-changing host environments. An understanding of ITH is urgently required to identify the diversity and complexity of the tumor microenvironment (TME), but achieving this understanding has been a challenge. SCS provides fundamental ideas about existing diversity in specific TMEs, improving cancer diagnosis and prognosis prediction, as well as improving the monitoring of therapeutic response.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
