Cancer gene expression database (CGED): A database for gene expression profiling with accompanying clinical information of human cancer tissues

Gene expression profiling of cancer tissues is expected to contribute to our understanding of cancer biology as well as developments of new methods of diagnosis and therapy. Our collaborative efforts in Japan have been mainly focused on solid tumors such as breast, colorectal and hepatocellular cancers. The expression data are obtained by a high-throughput RT-PCR technique, and patients are recruited mainly from a single hospital. In the cancer gene expression database (CGED), the expression and clinical data are presented in a way useful for scientists interested in specific genes or biological functions. The data can be retrieved either by gene identifiers or by functional categories defined by Gene Ontology terms or the Swiss-Prot annotation. Expression patterns of multiple genes, selected by names or similarity search of the patterns, can be compared. Visual presentation of the data with sorting function enables users to easily recognize of relationships between gene expression and clinical parameters. Data for other cancers such as lung and thyroid cancers will be added in the near future. The URL of CGED is http://cged.hgc.jp.