Computational Methods for Multi-Omics Data Analysis in Cancer Precision Medicine

Book excerpt: Cancer is a complex and heterogeneous disease often caused by different alterations. The development of human cancer is due to the accumulation of genetic and epigenetic modifications that could affect the structure and function of the genome. High-throughput methods (e.g., microarray and next-generation sequencing) can investigate a tumor at multiple levels: i) DNA with genome-wide association studies (GWAS), ii) epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation, histone changes and microRNAs (miRNAs) iii) mRNA. The availability of public datasets from different multi-omics data has been growing rapidly and could facilitate better knowledge of the biological processes of cancer. Computational approaches are essential for the analysis of big data and the identification of potential biomarkers for early and differential diagnosis, and prognosis.