PrognoScan: a new database for meta-analysis of the prognostic value of genes.
BACKGROUND
In cancer research, the association between a gene and clinical outcome suggests the underlying etiology of the disease and consequently can motivate further studies. The recent availability of published cancer microarray datasets with clinical annotation provides the opportunity for linking gene expression to prognosis. However, the data are not easy to access and analyze without an effective analysis platform.


METHODS
To take advantage of public resources in full, a database named "PrognoScan" has been developed. This is 1) a large collection of publicly available cancer microarray datasets with clinical annotation, as well as 2) a tool for assessing the biological relationship between gene expression and prognosis. PrognoScan employs the minimum P-value approach for grouping patients for survival analysis that finds the optimal cutpoint in continuous gene expression measurement without prior biological knowledge or assumption and, as a result, enables systematic meta-analysis of multiple datasets.


CONCLUSIONS
PrognoScan provides a powerful platform for evaluating potential tumor markers and therapeutic targets and would accelerate cancer research. The database is publicly accessible at http://gibk21.bse.kyutech.ac.jp/PrognoScan/index.html.
Mizuno
Hideaki
H
Pharmaceutical Technology Department, Kamakura Research Laboratories, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. mizunohda@chugai-pharm.co.jp
Kitada
Kunio
K
Nakai
Kenta
K
Sarai
Akinori
A