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Review
. 2019 Sep 26;20(19):4781.
doi: 10.3390/ijms20194781.

The Need for Multi-Omics Biomarker Signatures in Precision Medicine

Michael Olivier  1 , Reto Asmis  2 , Gregory A Hawkins  3 , Timothy D Howard  4 , Laura A Cox  5
Affiliations
Review

The Need for Multi-Omics Biomarker Signatures in Precision Medicine

Michael Olivier et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Recent advances in omics technologies have led to unprecedented efforts characterizing the molecular changes that underlie the development and progression of a wide array of complex human diseases, including cancer. As a result, multi-omics analyses-which take advantage of these technologies in genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and other omics areas-have been proposed and heralded as the key to advancing precision medicine in the clinic. In the field of precision oncology, genomics approaches, and, more recently, other omics analyses have helped reveal several key mechanisms in cancer development, treatment resistance, and recurrence risk, and several of these findings have been implemented in clinical oncology to help guide treatment decisions. However, truly integrated multi-omics analyses have not been applied widely, preventing further advances in precision medicine. Additional efforts are needed to develop the analytical infrastructure necessary to generate, analyze, and annotate multi-omics data effectively to inform precision medicine-based decision-making.

Keywords: epigenomics; genomics; integrated multi-omics; metabolomics; precision medicine; precision oncology; proteomics; transcriptomics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summary of the applications of individual omics technologies to study cancer and other human disorders.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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