Consistent metagenes from cancer expression profiles yield agent specific predictors of chemotherapy response
2011

Predicting Cancer Treatment Response with Metagenes

Sample size: 1037 publication 10 minutes Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Li Qiyuan, Eklund Aron C, Birkbak Nicolai J, Desmedt Christine, Haibe-Kains Benjamin, Sotiriou Christos, Symmans W Fraser, Pusztai Lajos, Brunak Søren, Richardson Andrea L, Szallasi Zoltan

Primary Institution: Center for Biological Sequence Analysis, Technical University of Denmark

Hypothesis

Can consistent metagenes derived from cancer expression profiles predict chemotherapy response?

Conclusion

The study found that metagenes derived from multiple data sets can effectively predict chemotherapy response in breast cancer and other tumor types.

Supporting Evidence

  • The study derived four metagenes from five cohorts of double-negative breast cancer.
  • Three of the metagenes showed strong associations with chemotherapy response.
  • The method was also applied to ovarian and lung cancer, yielding predictors of survival.

Takeaway

Scientists found a way to use patterns in cancer genes to help doctors know which treatments will work best for patients.

Methodology

The study used unsupervised methods to derive metagenes from expression profiles of various cancer types and validated their predictive power in independent cohorts.

Potential Biases

Potential overfitting due to the use of multiple data sets without independent validation for all findings.

Limitations

The study's findings may not be applicable to all cancer types due to the specific focus on certain cohorts.

Participant Demographics

The study included various cohorts of breast cancer patients, specifically focusing on double-negative breast cancer.

Statistical Information

P-Value

0.005

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1471-2105-12-310

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