Online tutorial on survival analysis for biomarker discovery.

Kokošar, Jaka; Praznik, Ela; Špendl, Martin; Moreno, Nancy P; Newell, Alana; Shaulsky, Gad; Zupan, Blaž · PLoS Comput Biol · 2026

other · Level V

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Abstract

In biomedicine, survival analysis addresses time-to-event data to study outcomes like patient survival and treatment response, and supports biomarker discovery. Yet, teaching this analysis is often hindered by mathematical and programming barriers. We present a structured, hands-on tutorial that goes beyond a typical online guide-offering integrated video lectures, literature, quizzes, and practical exercises. Built around Orange Data Mining, an open and free no-code visual analytics platform, the tutorial covers key concepts such as censoring, Kaplan-Meier curves, group comparisons, and biomarker discovery through real-world datasets. Organized in four pedagogical units, it progresses from basic survival data analysis to gene and gene-set biomarker discovery. Designed for 2-3 hours of learning, it supports both individual study and classroom use, and was successfully tested with over 120 participants.

Medical subject headings