Applying Machine Learning for Integration of Multi-Modal Genomics Data and Imaging Data to Quantify Heterogeneity in Tumour Tissues

Abstract

With rapid advances in experimental instruments and protocols, imaging and sequencing data are being generated at an unprecedented rate contributing significantly to the current and coming big biomedical data. Meanwhile, unprecedented advances in computational infrastructure and analysis algorithms are realizing image-based digital diagnosis not only in radiology and cardiology but also oncology and other diseases. Machine learning methods, especially deep learning techniques, are already and broadly implemented in diverse technological and industrial sectors, but their applications in healthcare are just starting. Uniquely in biomedical research, a vast potential exists to integrate genomics data with histopathological imaging data. The integration has the potential to extend the pathologist’s limits and boundaries, which may create breakthroughs in diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring at molecular and tissue levels. Moreover, the applications of genomics data are realizing the potential for personalized medicine, making diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and prognosis more accurate. In this chapter, we discuss machine learning methods readily available for digital pathology applications, new prospects of integrating spatial genomics data on tissues with tissue morphology, and frontier approaches to combining genomics data with pathological imaging data. We present perspectives on how artificial intelligence can be synergized with molecular genomics and imaging to make breakthroughs in biomedical and translational research for computer-aided applications.