Technology Insight: will systems pathology replace the pathologist?

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Systems pathology can overcome the limitations of more traditional pathology techniques to provide information that can be used in predicting prognosis and selecting appropriate treatments for cancer patients. This Technology Insight describes the techniques involved in systems pathology, and discusses its application in the pathologic investigation of prostate cancer and in predicting the prognosis of patients with this disease. By using systems pathology, it might be possible to provide a predictive, personalized therapeutic recommendation for patients with prostate cancer. Systems pathology integrates quantitative data and information from many sources to generate a reliable prediction of the expected natural course of the disease and response to different therapeutic options. In other words, through the integration of relatively large data sets and the use of knowledge engineering, systems pathology aims at predicting the future behavior of tumors and their interaction with the host. In this Review, we introduce the methods used in systems pathology and summarize a recent study providing the first evidence of a concept for this strategy. The results show that systems pathology can provide a personalized prediction of the risk of recurrence after prostatectomy for cancer.