Cancer mapping shows how tumours grow

A new technique has allowed scientists to map genetic changes happening in cancerous cells for the first time, giving a 3D picture of how a tumour is developing.

Previous techniques broke up cancerous tissue to study mutations in cells, so it was difficult to see how tumours grew.

The new method also shows that some healthy cells have DNA damage like cancerous cells, but do not become cancerous.

Oxford University hopes it will help medics decide which parts of a tumour to operate on. “Working out what stops some cells becoming cancerous could help us to detect this disease earlier,” said Dr Henry Stennett of Cancer Research UK.