Computational approaches for the identification of cancer genes and pathways

Abstract

High-throughput DNA sequencing techniques enable large-scale measurement of somatic mutations in tumors. Cancer genomics research aims at identifying all cancer-related genes and solid interpretation of their contribution to cancer initiation and development. However, this venture is characterized by various challenges, such as the high number of neutral passenger mutations and the complexity of the biological networks affected by driver mutations. Based on biological pathway and network information, sophisticated computational methods have been developed to facilitate the detection of cancer driver mutations and pathways. They can be categorized into (1) methods using known pathways from public databases, (2) network-based methods, and (3) methods learning cancer pathways de novo. Methods in the first two categories use and integrate different types of data, such as biological pathways, protein interaction networks, and gene expression measurements. The third category consists of de novo methods that detect combinatorial patterns of somatic mutations across tumor samples, such as mutual exclusivity and co-occurrence. In this review, we discuss recent advances, current limitations, and future challenges of these approaches for detecting cancer genes and pathways. We also discuss the most important current resources of cancer-related genes. WIREs Syst Biol Med 2017, 9:e1364. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1364. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.