Structural and functional properties of genes involved in human cancer

Abstract Background One of the main goals of cancer genetics is to identify the causative elements at the molecular level leading to cancer. Results We have conducted an analysis of a set of genes known to be involved in cancer in order to unveil their unique features that can assist towards the identification of new candidate cancer genes. Conclusion We have detected key patterns in this group of genes in terms of the molecular function or the biological process in which they are involved as well as sequence properties. Based on these features we have developed an accurate Bayesian classification model with which human genes have been scored for their likelihood of involvement in cancer.