CGHpower: exploring sample size calculations for chromosomal copy number experiments

Background: Determining a suitable sample size is an important step in the planning of microarray experiments. Increasing the number of arrays gives more statistical power, but adds to the total cost of the experiment. Several approaches for sample size determination have been developed for expression array studies, but so far none has been proposed for array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH). Results: Here we explore power calculations for aCGH experiments comparing two groups. In a pilot experiment CGHpower estimates the biological diversity between groups and provides a statistical framework for estimating average power as a function of sample size. As the method requires pilot data, it can be used either in the planning stage of larger studies or in estimating the power achieved in past experiments. Conclusions: The proposed method relies on certain assumptions. According to our evaluation with public and simulated data sets, they do not always hold true. Violation of the a...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: BMCBI
• Authors: Ilari Scheinin, Jose A. Ferreira, Sakari Knuutila, Gerrit Meijer, Mark A. van de Wiel, Bauke Ylstra
• Keywords: Array Comparative Genomic Hybridization, BMCBI 2010, Sample Size, Sample Size Calculations