Integrative weighted molecular network construction from transcriptomics and genome wide association data to identify shared genetic biomarkers for COPD and lung cancer.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a multifactorial progressive airflow obstruction in the lungs, accounting for high morbidity and mortality across the world. This study aims to identify potential COPD blood-based biomarkers by analyzing the dysregulated gene expression patterns in blood and lung tissues with the help of robust computational approaches. The microarray gene expression datasets from blood (136 COPD and 6 controls) and lung tissues (16 COPD and 19 controls) were analyzed to detect shared differentially expressed genes (DEGs).