Biomedical Informatics for Cancer Research

In the past two decades, the large investment in cancer research led to identification of the complementary roles of genetic mutation and epigenetic change as the fundamental drivers of cancer. With these discoveries, we now recognize the deep heterogeneity in cancer, in which phenotypically similar behaviors in tumors arise from different molecular aberrations. Although most tumors contain many mutations, only a few mutated genes drive carcinogenesis. For cancer treatment, we must identify and target only the deleterious subset of aberrant proteins from these mutated genes to maximize efficacy while minimizing harmful side effects.