Early Stage Biomarkers Screening of Prostate Cancer Based on Weighted Gene Coexpression Network Analysis

Although the morbidity and mortality rates of prostate cancer (PCa) are considerably high, many PCas are characterized as indolent and slow growing, which do not require overtreatment. Overdiagnosis and overtreatment of early detected PCa are an emerging problem, owing to a lack of biomarkers that detect advanced disease at an earlier stage. In this study, RNA-Seq data of 57,045 genes for 495 PCa samples and 52 normal samples in the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database were downloaded. Subsequently, we performed weighted gene coexpression network analysis to identify the Gleason score-related coexpression gene module, and further screened out oncogenes and tumor suppressors that were upregulated or downregulated in the early stage of PCa as well as those related to the clinical prognosis of PCa patients. Based on this study, some novel biomarkers were identified for the disease-free survival, which are helpful for fast diagnosis and prognosis.