WEHI: Computational biology could improve treatment of melanoma patients

Source: Healthcare IT, July 2019

Computational biology has enabled researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute to develop a new method to identify melanoma patients.

A new study also highlights the role computational biology could play in furthering understanding of cancer biology and patient outcomes in the future.

The method outlined in the research measures the extent of tumour-fighting natural killer immune cells in tumours of patients with metastatic melanoma. This method of classification could, in the future, help guide the selection of therapies for people with the disease.

The research team’s computational analysis identifies putative gene targets, which could be of therapeutic value for boosting NK cell anti-tumor immunity.