Omics Technologies Improving Breast Cancer Research and Diagnostics

Breast cancer (BC) has yielded approximately 2.26 million new cases and has caused nearly 685,000 deaths worldwide in the last two years, making it the most common diagnosed cancer type in the world. BC is an intricate ecosystem formed by both the tumor microenvironment and malignant cells, and its heterogeneity impacts the response to treatment. Biomedical research has entered the era of massive omics data thanks to the high-throughput sequencing revolution, quick progress and widespread adoption. These technologies-liquid biopsy, transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics, metabolomics, pharmaco-omics and artificial intelligence imaging-could help researchers and clinicians to better understand the formation and evolution of BC. This review focuses on the findings of recent multi-omics-based research that has been applied to BC research, with an introduction to every omics technique and their applications for the different BC phenotypes, biomarkers, target therapies, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis, to provide a comprehensive overview of the possibilities of BC research.

Automated summary

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common diagnosed cancer type in the world, with approximately 2.26 million new cases and nearly 685,000 deaths worldwide in the last two years. BC is a complex ecosystem formed by the tumor microenvironment and malignant cells, and its heterogeneity affects treatment response. Recent advancements in high-throughput sequencing have enabled the use of various omics techniques, such as liquid biopsy, transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics, metabolomics, pharmaco-omics, and artificial intelligence imaging, to better understand the formation and evolution of BC. This comprehensive review focuses on the applications of multi-omics-based research in BC, including different phenotypes, biomarkers, target therapies, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.