LCE: an open web portal to explore gene expression and clinical associations in lung cancer

We constructed a lung cancer-specific database housing expression data and clinical data from over 6700 patients in 56 studies. Expression data from 23 genome-wide platforms were carefully processed and quality controlled, whereas clinical data were standardized and rigorously curated. Empowered by this lung cancer database, we created an open access web resource—the Lung Cancer Explorer (LCE), which enables researchers and clinicians to explore these data and perform analyses. Users can perform meta-analyses on LCE to gain a quick overview of the results on tumor vs non-malignant tissue (normal) differential gene expression and expression-survival association. Individual dataset-based survival analysis, comparative analysis, and correlation analysis are also provided with flexible options to allow for customized analyses from the user.