[Frontiers in Bioscience E3, 46-50, January 1, 2011]

[Frontiers in Bioscience E3, 46-50, January 1, 2011]

Bioinformatics approach for the validation of non-small cell lung cancer biomarkers

Carolina Beatriz Muller, Rafael Longhi Sampaio de Barros, Jose Claudio Fonseca Moreira, Fabio Klamt

Centro de Estudos em Estresse Oxidativo, Departamento de Bioquimica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Rua Ramiro Barcelos 2600-anexo, Porto Alegre 90035-003, Brazil

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Searching for NSCLC potential biomarker: 3.1. Literature search; 3.2. Tumor samples and microarray data; 3.3. Survival data analysis
4. Discussion
5. Acknowledgements
6. References

1. ABSTRACT

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for nearly 1 million deaths annually, worldwide. Conventional treatments offer limited benefits and patients have a survival rate of approximately 1 year. A biomarker for NSCLC could provide the potential benefits of early diagnosis, prognosis and could lead to important applications such as drug targeting. In a search for a biomarker with prognostic value, we reviewed the literature and tested potential biomarkers by performing a meta-data analysis using public databank of NSCLC biopsies containing gene expression data and clinical and pathologic information from 111 patients. We generated standard Kaplan-Meier mortality curves by clustering patients according to either biomarker expression levels or NSCLC stage grouping. Our statistical analyses show that all 60 potential biomarkers analyzed here have no prognostic value for NSCLC patient outcome.