New candidate cancer genes identified using math models

Source: EurekAlert

(Boston)–Computational modeling is the use of computers to simulate and study the behavior of complex systems. Computational approaches are widely adopted in the bioimedical sciences and can be used to sift through large volumes of complex data to extract recurrent patterns that may point to a disease’s causes and effects.

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have developed a novel computational method, integration of Epi-DNA and Gene Expression (iEDGE), whose application to the analysis of more than 8,500 tumor profiles from The Cancer Genome Atlas has led to the discovery of genes whose alteration (mutation or copy number alteration) may contribute to cancer susceptibility. This breakthrough may lead to new therapeutic targets for numerous cancers.