Cancer
Numbers Detective: How statistics are solving the puzzle of cancer
In the last couple of decades, biology has turned into a data-rich field. High-tech pieces of equipment such as electrophoretic gels, DNA sequencing machines, gene chips, mass spectrometers and a host of others, give large quantities of data which have become a vital component of modern biomedical research. Nowhere is this more true than in the field of cancer, where the new areas of genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and more, promise to advance our understanding of cancer through the analysis and interpretation of experimental and observational data, such as that from tumours. It’s here that people like Professor Terry Speed, working in bioinformatics and systems biology, find many exciting opportunities.
Bioinformatics is the combination of mathematics, statistics and computer science with genetics and molecular biology. It’s in this area of work that Speed gets to be a science sleuth. “Science in general, and statistical analysis in particular, can have a lot in common with crime solving,” he explains.
“We have questions, data, and lots of background information and we want to get to the bottom of it all. Compare this with the detective who seeks the person with the means, motive and opportunity – the person whodunnit!”
According to Speed, the answers to these mysteries are statistics, which are at the heart of bioinformatics. “Statistics is a great discipline but it suffers from a PR problem,” he says. “Many people think of ‘lies’ as soon as they hear the word ‘statistics’, although the reality is that most of the time statistics are used to get to the truth. The ultimate goal is to use these data to gain insights into the nature of cancer – insights that can lead to advances in diagnosis or treatment.”
By his own admission, Terry’s research moves along, if at all, in small steps. “If I continued my crime-solving analogy, we begin trying to get to the bottom of tiny crimes, aware that there are much larger puzzles to solve,” he says.
“So we’ve made a little progress on some small pieces of the puzzle and we hope to continue in this way. It’s hard to describe the things we do using terms like ‘breakthrough’. We might assist others in making their breakthroughs, but most of the time we and the people with whom we collaborate move in small steps, though in our minds, we make frequent, small, personal insights – the ‘aha!’ moments that keep us optimistic.”
For Terry, the ultimate goal is to use these data to gain insights into, amongst other things, the nature of cancer – insights that can lead to advances in diagnosis or treatment.
“Twelve years ago, I was asked for my vision about my research. At that time I thought: ‘I want to cure cancer,’ but replied, ‘I’m a statistician, I don’t have a vision.’ These days I’m bold enough to voice my thoughts but I don’t think people like me can cure cancer alone. I do think we can make a contribution, and in truth that’s probably all anyone can say. I’d like one day to see the headline: ‘Statistician cures cancer’. But the more truthful headline would be: ‘Statistician tries to help others cure cancer’. Not quite as punchy!”
And if you thought that working with data was dull – think again! Terry can’t get enough of this fascinating discipline.
“What’s so good about statistics is that we get the opportunity to be involved in many interesting things … all sorts of science and technology. As a famous statistician once said, ‘we get to play in everyone’s backyard’. I enjoy this collaborative aspect of my subject a lot. Is this surprising; that my life is never boring? That there’s never enough time to do all the things I want to do? I bounce out of bed each morning and fall into bed each night, wishing there had been time to explore more thoroughly the ideas of the day.”
This article was originally published in Australian Health and Medical Research – Working to Build a Healthy Australia.