Big data to help with cancer treatment

Recently, the British Cancer Institute (institute&http://www.aliyun.com/zixun/aggregation/37954.html ">nbsp;of Cancer Research, referred to as ICR) Experts say big data can turn cancer into a "manageable" disease. A new device called the "Tumor Analysis Unit" is used in a non-profit way to dig up useful information in a number of cancer case data to better understand how cells slowly refuse treatment. The equipment was donated by the public and did not involve government funds.

The device can also help manage older cancer patients. "For older cancer patients, how to prolong their lifespan to a few years is an important issue," says Alan Ashworth, the Cancer Research Institute's CEO. "Cancer usually occurs when people are old, and if we can prolong their lives so that they don't end up with cancer, This is equivalent to turning cancer into a clinical disease. ”

But to achieve this goal, some fundamental scientific computational difficulties must be overcome. According to the statistics, the genetic data of just 1 million cancer patients can fill up the entire YouTube storage space. In addition, the test results need to circumvent rigid privacy and regulatory regulations so that data can be shared between researchers and pharmaceutical companies. The researchers also noted that only a few cancers can be turned from malignant to clinical, and that other cancers are considered incurable, regardless of the completeness of the genetic file.

This is a really scientific topic. The team says the theory that different cancers are triggered by different genes is emerging, and the case for genetic identification of tumours is real, such as breast cancer, which is confirmed by variants of the HER2 gene. What is missing is a large DNA database that can help identify specific cancers and specific genes, so that clinicians can be given more options, such as when two cancers are identified by the same gene, and the same medication can be used for both cases. The use of this technique is more fundamental to finding the problem than repeatedly checking the patient.

"Knowledge is increasing at an alarming rate," Ashworth said. "Despite setbacks, many people believe that the technology will have a bright future." ”

(Responsible editor: The good of the Legacy)