ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Many diseases, including cancers, arise from a combination of molecular, cellular, and environmental factors. Products of genes with mutations or other changes often interact to form large functional networks. Systems biology helps us to understand how these networks are organized and function. New experimental technologies can provide large data sets for the study of various systems. Systems biology is an interdisciplinary ˆeld that helps researchers understand the fundamental biological principles underlying multiple changes seen in these large data sets. Instead of trying to understand each function separately, systems biology attempts to explain how all the different functions are interconnected to form a uniˆed system. In this chapter, we review the experimental and computational techniques currently used in systems biology research. With respect to thyroid cancer, systems biology research of two interacting networks of signaling pathways, B-Raf/ MAPK and PTEN/AKT/PI3K, has already yielded strategic sites for molecular targeted therapy. This novel research paradigm holds great promise for the continued understanding of thyroid cancer biology and therapeutics.
