Cancer's big data problem

Data is pouring into the hands of cancer researchers, thanks to improvements in imaging, models and understanding of genetics. Today the data from a single patient's tumor in a clinical trial can add up to one terabyte--the equivalent of 130,000 books. But we don't yet have the tools to efficiently process the mountain of genetic data to make more precise predictions for therapy. And it's needed: treating cancer remains a complex moving target. We can't yet say precisely how a specific tumor will react to any given drug, and as a patient is treated, cancer cells can continue to evolve, making the initial therapy less effective.