Computational and systems biology of cancer

Ever since the war on cancer was declared in 1971, there has been an explosion in our understanding of this diverse group of diseases. The application of molecular genetics and molecular biology technologies have enabled a deep understanding of the genetic, epigenetic, signaling cascades, survival pathways, and invasive mechanisms that underlie the cancer phenotype. Concomitantly this has translated in the development of ever more effective and safe medications that work through different mechanisms of action and target fundamental aspects of the biology of the tumor. The paradigm has been chronic myeloid leukemia where the discovery of the Philadelphia chromosome, ultimately led to the identification of the BCR-ABL oncogene and the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as imatinib, nilotinib, dasatinib and others and lead to rapid, deep and long-lasting remissions in this disease. Another success story has been acute promyelocytic leukemia with the vast majority of patients now being cured of the disease without the need for any classical chemotherapy.