Novel tool measures how cancer cells rewrite genetic instructions to aid growth and survival

Cancer is caused by faulty genes, but what also shapes a cancer cell's behavior is how a gene's instructions are trimmed and rearranged before they are turned into the proteins that keep a cell alive. A study published in Nature Communications reveals a new way of measuring that editing process, known as splicing, directly. It is the first time scientists have been able to get a clear view of how tumors systematically rewire their genetic instructions to aid growth and survival, and it may point toward new ways of controlling the disease.