Regulation of mRNA expression in breast cancer - a cis-tematic trans-action

Large research consortia such as the Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium (METABRIC), The Cancer Genome Atlas and International Cancer Genomics Consortium are systematically interrogating large sets of tumor samples through integrated analysis of genome-wide DNA copy number and promoter methylation, transcriptome-wide RNA expression, protein expression and exome-wide sequencing. A recent METABRIC study explored the effects of cis-acting and trans-acting factors of gene expression regulation in breast cancer. By making their data sets publicly available, these large consortia are inviting new types of analysis that have the potential to drive breast cancer research into previously unexplored avenues.