Topic:
Cancer research is one of the areas of healthcare where
bioinformatics is most widely used. BioMed Central addresses why bioinformatics
is incredibly helpful in cancer research saying:
With increasing evidence that the
interaction and network between genes and proteins play an important role in
investigation of cancer molecular mechanisms, it is necessary and important to
introduce a new concept of Systems Clinical Medicine into cancer research, to
integrate systems biology, clinical science, omics-based technology,
bioinformatics and computational science to improve diagnosis, therapies and
prognosis of diseases.[i]
One of the ways in which medical professionals hope that
bioinformatics will be able help advance cancer research is by using biomarkers
in conjunction with patients symptoms and prognosis to find common links
between certain genes and the severity and type of cancer the patient develops.
Going forward, people hope to be able to use various algorithms to predict
which individuals are more likely to develop cancer in their lifetime and
attempt to resolve the issue before cancer is able to develop.
Important Terminology:
·
Bioinformatics - the
collection, classification, storage, and analysis of biochemical and biological
information using computers especially as applied in molecular genetics and
genomics[ii]
·
Biomarker - a
distinctive biological or biologically derived indicator (as a metabolite) of a
process, event, or condition (as aging, disease, or oil formation)[iii]
Relation to Computer Science:
Computer science is one of the most important aspects in
bioinformatics as the study of bioinformatics has become more popular. One
particular reason that computer science is so important in bioinformatics is
because establishing the infrastructure to handle and analyze all of the data
and providing proper access and security to the data are critical. Ensuring that a patient’s privacy is not
compromised as the data is collected and analyzed has to be taken into consideration
as well. One of the ways that this is being done is by assigning random numbers
to patients and keeping the catalog of what numbers are associated with which
patient on a separate, secured network. Computer scientists and data analysts
are also a necessary part of the bioinformatics team because the majority of
the healthcare providers involved are not educated on how to process and
analyze large amounts of data.
Works Cited:
[i] "Cancer
Bioinformatics: A New Approach to Systems Clinical Medicine." BMC
Bioinformatics. BioMed Central, 01 May 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2017.
[ii] "Bioinformatics."
Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2017.
[iii] "Biomarkers." Merriam-Webster.
Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2017.
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