(Press-News.org) SEATTLE, WA, AUGUST 9, 2015 - A new statistical method for analyzing next-generation sequencing (NGS) data that helps researchers study the genome of various organisms such as human tumors and could help bring about personalized cancer treatments was presented today at a session of the 2015 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM 2015) in Seattle.
Yuan Ji, director of the Program for Computational Genomics and Medicine Research Institute at NorthShore University HealthSystem and associate professor of biostatistics at The University of Chicago, described the new technique--called Bayesian feature allocation models--during a presentation titled "Bayesian Models for Heterogeneity in Human Cancers."
Ji collaborated on development of the models with Peter Mueller, professor of mathematics at The University of Texas at Austin; Juhee Lee, assistant professor of applied mathematics and statistics at the University of California, Santa Cruz; Yanxun Xu, assistant professor of statistics at The Johns Hopkins University; Subhajit Sengupta, postdoctoral fellow at NorthShore University HealthSystem; and Kamalakar Gulukota, director of the Center for Molecular Medicine at NorthShore University HealthSystem.
The successful development of personalized cancer treatments will be driven by the accurate description of the genetic composition of a patient's cancerous tumor. Recent breakthroughs in cancer genomics research reveals cells within each malignant tumor are genetically heterogeneous, possessing new and evolving DNA mutations.
Traditional one-size-fit-all approaches for treating cancer cannot eliminate all the subclones--the next generation of a mutant cell arising in a clone--within a tumor. After treatment, residual cells become resistant and repopulate a new tumor that becomes more challenging to treat. Consequently, it is important for cancer researchers to fully understand the subclonal genetics in a tumor so the disease can be attacked more effectively using combinations of drugs that target all the subclones.
To do so, the first step is to determine which subclones are present and the various types of mutations the subclones possess. Using NGS data, Ji and his collaborators developed Bayesian feature allocation models to extrapolate the number and population frequencies of subclones in a tumor sample. They also established subclonal sequence and structural mutations as part of the inference results, both of which help physicians select targeted drugs based on the models' findings.
"By applying the powerful Bayesian feature allocation models to analyze NGS data, we believe we can understand the genetic and cellular heterogeneity within each tumor and thus facilitate precision cancer treatment decisions by a patient's attending physician," said Ji, concluding his presentation.
JSM 2015 is being held August 8-13 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. More than 6,000 statisticians--representing academia, business and industry, as well as national, state and local governments--from numerous countries are attending North America's largest statistical science gathering.
INFORMATION:
About JSM 2015
JSM, which has been held annually since 1974, is being conducted jointly this year by the American Statistical Association (http://www.amstat.org), International Biometric Society (http://www.biometricsociety.org/) (ENAR [http://www.enar.org/] and WNAR [http://wnar.org/]) (http://www.biometricsociety.org/), Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://imstat.org/en/index.html), Statistical Society of Canada (http://www.ssc.ca/en/whats-new), International Chinese Statistical Association (http://www.icsa.org/), International Indian Statistical Association (http://www.intindstat.org/), Korean International Statistical Society (http://www.statkiss.org/Home.php), International Society for Bayesian Analysis (http://bayesian.org/), Royal Statistical Society (https://www.rss.org.uk/), and International Statistical Institute (http://www.isi-web.org/). JSM activities include oral presentations, panel sessions, poster presentations, professional development courses, an exhibit hall, a career service, society and section business meetings, committee meetings, social activities and networking opportunities. Click here for more information about JSM 2015 (http://www.amstat.org/meetings/jsm/2015/index.cfm).
About the American Statistical Association
The ASA is the world's largest community of statisticians and the second-oldest continuously operating professional society in the United States. Its members serve in industry, government and academia in more than 90 countries, advancing research and promoting sound statistical practice to inform public policy and improve human welfare. For additional information, please visit the ASA website at http://www.amstat.org.
SEATTLE, WA, AUGUST 9, 2015 - Linking survey data with administrative records will enable the federal government to better gauge the effectiveness of social welfare programs such as food stamps and federal housing assistance, as well as the overall reach of federal antipoverty initiatives, Bruce D. Meyer today told a session audience at the 2015 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM 2015) in Seattle.
During a presentation titled "Using Linked Survey and Administrative Data to Better Measure Income: Implications for Poverty, Program Effectiveness, and Holes in the Safety Net," ...
TORONTO -- The practice of sexting may be more common than generally thought among adults. More than eight out of 10 people surveyed online admitted to sexting in the prior year, according to research presented at the American Psychological Association's 123rd Annual Convention.
"Given the possible implications, both positive and negative, for sexual health, it is important to continue investigating the role sexting plays in current romantic and sexual relationships," said Emily Stasko, MS, MPH, of Drexel University, who presented the research.
Stasko and her co-author, ...
Researchers shed light on why some plants thrive in different environments while others become extinct
Plants with C4 photosynthesis can thrive in a range of ecological conditions
Discovery could be key in helping improve vital food security
A team of international researchers, led by the University of Sheffield, has moved one step closer to discovering how physiological attributes allow some plants to thrive in a variety of conditions - something that could be the key to future food sustainability.
Climate change strongly impacts on biodiversity, putting some ...
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill, August 7, 2015 -The FDA recently approved two new endoscopic bariatric therapies (EBT) for the treatment of obesity. According to the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), this development provides important new, minimally invasive tools for combating the obesity epidemic and offers many patients an alternative to surgery.
The ReShape™ Integrated Dual Balloon System (ReShape™ Dual Balloon) was approved by the FDA on July 29. The ORBERA™ Intragastric Balloon was approved by the FDA on August 6. Many new and emerging ...
Athens, Ga. - Recent research published in the journal Microsystems & Nanoengineering could eventually change the way people living with prosthetics and spinal cord injury lead their lives.
Instead of using neural prosthetic devices--which suffer from immune-system rejection and are believed to fail due to a material and mechanical mismatch--a multi-institutional team, including Lohitash Karumbaiah of the University of Georgia's Regenerative Bioscience Center, has developed a brain-friendly extracellular matrix environment of neuronal cells that contain very little foreign ...
When the right gene is expressed in the right manner in the right population of stem cells, the developing mouse brain can exhibit primate-like features. In a paper publishing August 7th in the Open Access journal PLOS Biology, researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) succeeded in mimicking the sustained expression of the transcription factor Pax6 as seen in the developing human brain, in mouse cortical progenitor cells. This altered the behavior of these cells to one that is akin to that of progenitors in the developing primate ...
The common baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is used to make bread, wine and beer, and is the laboratory workhorse for a substantial proportion of research into molecular and cell biology. It was also the first non-bacterial living thing to have its genome sequenced, back in 1996. However, when the sequence of that genome emerged it appeared that the scientists were seeing double - the organism seemed to have two very different versions of many of its genes. How could this have happened?
Researchers from the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) Barcelona, Spain, ...
Berkeley -- While the eyes may be a window into one's soul, new research led by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that the pupils could also reveal whether one is a hunter or hunted.
An analysis of 214 species of land animals shows that a creature's ecological niche is a strong predictor of pupil shape. Species with pupils that are vertical slits are more likely to be ambush predators that are active both day and night. In contrast, those with horizontally elongated pupils are extremely likely to be plant-eating prey species with eyes on ...
This news release is available in French and German.
Every year, more than a million fish are used for toxicity testing and scientific research in the EU alone, and around 400 fish are needed for a single fish early-life stage test. Such toxicity tests are often required by regulatory authorities for new chemical substances, as fish are particularly sensitive to contaminants in water at early developmental stages. However, the increasing use of experimental animals is ethically questionable. In addition, conventional tests are complex, expensive and take ...
Coral Gables, FL (August 7, 2015)--Two new studies show that the tone of a candidate's voice can influence whether he or she wins office.
"Our analyses of both real-life elections and data from experiments show that candidates with lower-pitched voices are generally more successful at the polls," explains Casey Klofstad, associate professor of political science at the University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences, who is corresponding author on both studies.
The first study, published online in Political Psychology, shows that candidates who ran in the 2012 U.S. ...
