Genome-wide sequencing to identify the cause of hereditary cancer syndromes: with examples from familial pancreatic cancer.

Advances in our understanding of the human genome and next-generation technologies have facilitated the use of genome-wide sequencing to decipher the genetic basis of Mendelian disease and hereditary cancer syndromes. However, the application of genome-wide sequencing in hereditary cancer syndromes has had mixed success, in part, due to complex nature of the underlying genetic architecture. In this review we discuss the use of genome-wide sequencing in both Mendelian diseases and hereditary cancer syndromes, highlighting the potential and challenges of this approach using familial pancreatic cancer as an example.