Multi-dimensional analyses identify genes of high priority for pancreatic cancer research

Abstract Genomic profiling has unveiled the molecular subtypes and mutational landscape of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, there is a knowledge gap on the consistency of gene expression across PDAC tumors profiled in independent studies and this limits follow up research. To facilitate novel drug target prioritization and biomarker discovery, we investigated the most consistently expressed genes in human PDAC. We identified ~4,000 genes highly or lowly expressed in at least 4 of 5 microarrays (adjusted P Highlights Identifies ~4,000 consistent genes across PDAC microarrays, >50% of which have not been studied Glycolysis and cell cycle are the most consistent processes in PDAC Heterogeneous pathways underlie or correlate with clinicopathological variables Identifies 205 genes with similar expression pattern in PDAC tissues and peripheral blood Highlights 185 upregulated genes that are high priority therapeutic targets in PDAC