A computational model for genetic and epigenetic signals in colon cancer

Cancer, a class of diseases, which are characterized by abnormal cell growth, has one of the highest overall death rates world-wide. Its development has been linked to genetic and epigenetic events that aberrantly affect the regulation of key genes that control cellular mechanisms. However, a distinct problem in cancer research is the lack of precise information on tumor pathways, so the delineation of these and the processes underlying disease proliferation is an important area of investigation. This has motivated the effort to build computational models to help understand the molecular changes that lead to one or more types of malignancy. The current work aims to develop a prototype network-based model to describe cancer initiation and progression, with a focus on three main layers: micro-molecular events, gene interactions and cancer stages.