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.

Technologies collectively called omics enable simultaneous measurement of an enormous number of biomolecules; for example, genomics investigates thousands of DNA sequences, and proteomics examines large numbers of proteins. Scientists are using these technologies to develop innovative tests to detect disease and to predict a patient's likelihood of responding to specific drugs. Following a recent case involving premature use of omics-based tests in cancer clinical trials at Duke University, the NCI requested that the IOM establish a committee to recommend ways to strengthen omics-based test development and evaluation. This report identifies best practices to enhance development, evaluation, and translation of omics-based tests while simultaneously reinforcing steps to ensure that these tests are appropriately assessed for scientific validity before they are used to guide patient treatment in clinical trials.

Introduces biological concepts and biotechnologies producing the data, graph and network theory, cluster analysis and machine learning, using real-world biological and medical examples.

The occurrence of 5-methylcytosine in DNA was first described in 1948 by Hotchkiss (see first chapter). Recognition of its possible physiologi cal role in eucaryotes was first suggested in 1964 by Srinivasan and Borek (see first chapter). Since then work in a great many laboratories has established both the ubiquity of 5-methylcytosine and the catholicity of its possible regulatory function. The explosive increase in the number of publications dealing with DNA methylation attests to its importance and makes it impossible to write a comprehensive coverage of the literature within the scope of a general review. Since the publication of the 3 most recent books dealing with the subject (DNA methylation by Razin A. , Cedar H. and Riggs A. D. , 1984 Springer Verlag; Molecular Biology of DNA methylation by Adams R. L. P. and Burdon R. H. , 1985 Springer Verlag; Nucleic Acids Methylation, UCLA Symposium suppl. 128, 1989) considerable progress both in the techniques and results has been made in the field of DNA methylation. Thus we asked several authors to write chapters dealing with aspects of DNA methyla tion in which they are experts. This book should be most useful for students, teachers as well as researchers in the field of differentiation and gene regulation. We are most grateful to all our colleagues who were willing to spend much time and effort on the publication of this book. We also want to express our gratitude to Yan Chim Jost for her help in preparing this book.

Computational Genomics with R provides a starting point for beginners in genomic data analysis and also guides more advanced practitioners to sophisticated data analysis techniques in genomics. The book covers topics from R programming, to machine learning and statistics, to the latest genomic data analysis techniques. The text provides accessible information and explanations, always with the genomics context in the background. This also contains practical and well-documented examples in R so readers can analyze their data by simply reusing the code presented. As the field of computational genomics is interdisciplinary, it requires different starting points for people with different backgrounds. For example, a biologist might skip sections on basic genome biology and start with R programming, whereas a computer scientist might want to start with genome biology. After reading: You will have the basics of R and be able to dive right into specialized uses of R for computational genomics such as using Bioconductor packages. You will be familiar with statistics, supervised and unsupervised learning techniques that are important in data modeling, and exploratory analysis of high-dimensional data. You will understand genomic intervals and operations on them that are used for tasks such as aligned read counting and genomic feature annotation. You will know the basics of processing and quality checking high-throughput sequencing data. You will be able to do sequence analysis, such as calculating GC content for parts of a genome or finding transcription factor binding sites. You will know about visualization techniques used in genomics, such as heatmaps, meta-gene plots, and genomic track visualization. You will be familiar with analysis of different high-throughput sequencing data sets, such as RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, and BS-seq. You will know basic techniques for integrating and interpreting multi-omics datasets. Altuna Akalin is a group leader and head of the Bioinformatics and Omics Data Science Platform at the Berlin Institute of Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Center, Berlin. He has been developing computational methods for analyzing and integrating large-scale genomics data sets since 2002. He has published an extensive body of work in this area. The framework for this book grew out of the yearly computational genomics courses he has been organizing and teaching since 2015.

Precision medicine holds great promise for the treatment of cancer and represents a unique opportunity for accelerated development and application of novel and repurposed therapeutic approaches. Current studies and clinical trials demonstrate the benefits of genomic profiling for patients whose cancer is driven by specific, targetable alterations. However, precision oncologists continue to be challenged by the widespread heterogeneity of cancer genomes and drug responses in designing personalized treatments. Chapters provide a comprehensive overview of the computational approaches, methods, and tools that enable precision oncology, as well as related biological concepts. Covered topics include genome sequencing, the architecture of a precision oncology workflow, and introduces cutting-edge research topics in the field of precision oncology. This book is intended for computational biologists, bioinformaticians, biostatisticians and computational pathologists working in precision oncology and related fields, including cancer genomics, systems biology, and immuno-oncology.

Based on ideas from Support Vector Machines (SVMs), Learning To Classify Text Using Support Vector Machines presents a new approach to generating text classifiers from examples. The approach combines high performance and efficiency with theoretical understanding and improved robustness. In particular, it is highly effective without greedy heuristic components. The SVM approach is computationally efficient in training and classification, and it comes with a learning theory that can guide real-world applications. Learning To Classify Text Using Support Vector Machines gives a complete and detailed description of the SVM approach to learning text classifiers, including training algorithms, transductive text classification, efficient performance estimation, and a statistical learning model of text classification. In addition, it includes an overview of the field of text classification, making it self-contained even for newcomers to the field. This book gives a concise introduction to SVMs for pattern recognition, and it includes a detailed description of how to formulate text-classification tasks for machine learning.

Progress and Challenges in Precision Medicine presents an insightful overview to the myriad factors of personalized and precision medicine. The availability of the human genome, large amounts of data on individual genetic variations, environmental interactions, influence of lifestyle, and cutting-edge tools and technologies for big-data analysis have led to the age of personalized and precision medicine. Bringing together a global range of experts on precision medicine, this book collects previously scattered information into one concise volume which covers the most important developments so far in precision medicine and also suggests the most likely avenues for future development. The book includes clinical information, informatics, public policy implications, and information on case studies. It is a useful reference and background work for students, researchers, and clinicians working in the biomedical and medical fields, as well as policymakers in the health sciences. - Provides an overview of the growing field of precision medicine - Contains chapters from geographically diverse experts in their field - Explores important aspects of precision medicine, including applications, ethics, and development