Advancing personalized cancer research with machine learning
2021
The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
Researchers led by ICREA researcher Dr. Núria López-Bigas at IRB Barcelona have developed a tool, based on machine learning methods, that evaluates the potential contribution of all possible mutations in a gene in a given type of tumour to the development and progression of cancer.
The new tool has been integrated into the IntOGen platform, developed by the same group and designed to be used by the scientific and medical community in research projects, and into the Cancer Genome Interpreter, also developed by this group and which is more focused on clinical decision-making by medical oncologists.
BoostDM currently works with the mutational profiles of 28,000 genomes analysed from 66 types of cancer. The scope of BoostDM will grow as a result of the foreseeable increase in publicly accessible cancer genomes.
The tool has already generated 185 models to identify mutations in a specific gene in a given type of cancer. For example, it has produced a model that has identified all the possible mutations in the EGFR gene that trigger tumour development in some lung cancers, and another model for the same gene in cases of glioblastoma.
In silico saturation mutagenesis of cancer genes
Nuria Lopez-Bigas, Abel Gonzalez-Perez, Ferran Muiños
Added on: 10-04-2021
[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03771-1[2] https://www.technologynetworks.com/cancer-research/news/progressing-personalized-medicine-with-machine-learning-351418#:~:text=N%C3%BAria%20L%C3%B3pez%2DBigas%20at%20IRB,development%20and%20progression%20of%20cancer.
