Data at the heart of cancer treatment
What is cancer?
Cancer occurs when certain cells in the body begin to grow in an uncontrolled and disorderly manner. Over time, these cells form tumours capable of invading organs and disrupting their function.
Why is it complex?
The term ‘cancer’ actually encompasses hundreds of different diseases, each with its own mutations and resistances. Furthermore, the tumour interacts with the immune system and neighbouring tissues, making it even more difficult to understand and manage.
More data for a better understanding
The first step in understanding cancer is to gather data from medical follow-up, imaging, analysis of tumour DNA and other sources, then cross-reference them to choose the most appropriate treatment.
On average, around 48,000 people are newly diagnosed with cancer each year in Switzerland
Source: Addiction and Non-Communicable Diseases Monitoring System / Federal Office of Public Health, 2023
In Switzerland, 24 per cent of deaths are cancer-related (the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular disease)
Source: Federal Statistical Office, 2023
A cancer patient can generate up to 1 terabyte of biomedical data, including multi-omic, clinical and imaging analyses.
Source: Barker & Lee, Cancer Research, 2022
In this context, bioinformatics enables us to:
Compare the molecular profiles of thousands of patients
Identify the mutations responsible
Analyse the tumour cell by cell
Help doctors choose the right treatment
Virtually test new drugs