Wikipedia network analysis of cancer interactions and world influence

PLoS One. 2019 Sep 19;14(9):e0222508. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222508. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

We apply the Google matrix algorithms for analysis of interactions and influence of 37 cancer types, 203 cancer drugs and 195 world countries using the network of 5 416 537 English Wikipedia articles with all their directed hyperlinks. The PageRank algorithm provides a ranking of cancers which has 60% and 70% overlaps with the top 10 deadliest cancers extracted from World Health Organization GLOBOCAN 2018 and Global Burden of Diseases Study 2017, respectively. The recently developed reduced Google matrix algorithm gives networks of interactions between cancers, drugs and countries taking into account all direct and indirect links between these selected 435 entities. These reduced networks allow to obtain sensitivity of countries to specific cancers and drugs. The strongest links between cancers and drugs are in good agreement with the approved medical prescriptions of specific drugs to specific cancers. We argue that this analysis of knowledge accumulated in Wikipedia provides useful complementary global information about interdependencies between cancers, drugs and world countries.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Databases, Factual
  • Humans
  • Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Neoplasms / pathology*

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the French “Investissements d’Avenir” program, project ISITE-BFC, contract ANR-15-IDEX-0003 (JL), by the Bourgogne Franche-Comté Region 2017-2020 APEX project, see http://perso.utinam.cnrs.fr/~lages/apex/ (JL) and in part by the Programme Investissements d’Avenir ANR-11-IDEX-0002-02, reference ANR-10-LABX-0037-NEXT, project THETRACOM, (DLS). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.