Additionally, the 70-gene signature has previously been tested on the NKI dataset, which allowed us to make model comparisons on the same patients. The 70-gene signature is also used clinically and thus represents a “”gold standard”" against which to compare predictive accuracy of gene signatures which predict breast cancer patient outcome [9]. We observed that our model had a slightly higher overall predictive accuracy than either the Aurora kinase A expression model or the

70-gene signature, and all three models had comparable specificities and positive predictive values (Table 2). Importantly, these see more observations demonstrate that our algorithm produces prediction models SN-38 mouse with comparable accuracy to other feature selection techniques while having generally better accessibility and useability for biological research scientists.

To this end, we’ve begun using our algorithm to generate gene expression based prediction models of breast cancer cell sensitivity to commonly used anti-cancer therapies. Conclusion Here, we present an algorithm to generate gene signatures with predictive potential. It is noteworthy that our algorithm was developed using Microsoft Excel™ and tested using GraphPad Prism5™, commonly available software that should significantly increase its use. Importantly, the signature developed using our method had comparable predictive accuracy to either the Aurora kinase A expression or 70-gene MammaPrint™ models [2, 8]. Our methods represent a novel and broadly applicable technique to generate predictive gene signatures that we anticipate will prove useful to the molecular biological research community. Conflict of interests The authors declare

that they have no competing interests. Appendix 1 Supplementary methods Survival analysis Survival analysis was completed using Graphpad Prism 5™ software’s GPX6 “”survival”" option. Time to endpoint or time to study censorship was included as the independent variable (x-axis column) and death or survival (denoted 1 = death, 0 = survival) was included on the y-axis column. Independent y-axis columns were used for each group (good or poor prognosis). Statistical analyses (Log-rank test) was accessed and completed using the Graphpad analyze tab. Linear regression Linear regression was completed using Graphpad Prism 5™ software’s “”XY”" option. The survival score was plotted as the independent variable (x-axis column), whereas survival time or time to death was plotted in the y-axis column. Statistical analyses to confirm correlation was completed using the Graphpad analyze tool. Survival time mean Survival time mean comparison was completed using Graphpad Prism 5™ software’s “”column”" option. The survival or time to death times for both the good and poor prognosis groups were plotted in independent columns.