Overcoming analytical reliability issues in clinical proteomics using rank-based network approaches

Proteomics is poised to play critical roles in clinical research. However, due to limited coverage and high noise, integration with powerful analysis algorithms is necessary. In particular, network-based algorithms can improve selection of reproducible features in spite of incomplete proteome coverage, technical inconsistency or high inter-sample variability. We define analytical reliability on three benchmarks --- precision/recall rates, feature-selection stability and cross-validation accuracy. Using these, we demonstrate the insufficiencies of commonly used Student’s t-test and Hypergeometric enrichment. Given advances in sample sizes, quantitation accuracy and coverage, we are now able to introduce and evaluate Ranked-Based Network Approaches (RBNAs) for the first time in proteomics. These include SNET (SubNETwork), FSNET (FuzzySNET), PFSNET (PairedFSNET). We also introduce for the first time, PPFSNET(samplePairedPFSNET), which is a paired-sample variant of PFSNET. RBNAs (particularly PFSNET and PPFSNET) excelled on all three benchmarks and can make consistent and reproducible predictions even in the small-sample size scenario (n=4). Given these qualities, RBNAs represent an important advancement in network biology, and is expected to see practical usage, particularly in clinical biomarker and drug target prediction.