Cohort Comparison¶
Overview¶
The Cohort Comparison tool allows researchers to compare two saved cohorts within the MMRF Virtual Lab. This feature displays side-by-side visual and tabular summaries that highlight similarities and differences between cohorts based on clinical and demographic variables.
Before accessing this tool, users must first have at least two saved cohorts. You can create and save cohorts using the Cohort Builder in the Analysis Center.
Accessing the Cohort Comparison Tool¶
To access the Cohort Comparison:
- Navigate to the Cohort Comparison tool from the Core Tools menu.
- Select a primary cohort to compare from the drop-down list.
- Click the Cohort Comparison tab or icon.
- Choose a second cohort from your list of saved cohorts.
- Click Run to generate comparison visualizations.
The top of the page displays your selected cohorts and the total number of cases included in each.
Results Panel¶
After generating a comparison, the Results section presents multiple visualizations and data tables.
Each chart and table enables researchers to examine proportional distributions across common clinical attributes.
The following features are currently available:
1. Survival Analysis¶
Displays Kaplan–Meier survival plots comparing the two cohorts. If survival data is unavailable, a notice will appear indicating that no data is currently available for comparison.
2. Gender¶
Compares gender distribution between the two cohorts, displayed as a bar chart and accompanying table showing counts and percentages. Each bar’s color corresponds to one of the cohorts.
| Gender | # Cases S₁ | % Cases S₁ | # Cases S₂ | % Cases S₂ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 604 | 60.7% | 605 | 60.8% |
| Female | 391 | 39.3% | 390 | 39.2% |
3. Vital Status¶
Displays the proportion of patients who are alive or deceased in each cohort. The accompanying table provides absolute counts and percentages for each group.
4. Age at Diagnosis¶
Illustrates the age distribution of patients at diagnosis across both cohorts. Results are binned into defined age groups (e.g., 20–30, 30–40, 40–50). Tables below each chart show the count and percentage for each cohort.
5. Race and Ethnicity¶
The Race and Ethnicity facets will allow users to compare the racial and ethnic composition of the two cohorts.
Customize Display¶
Users can choose which facets to display in the comparison results.
Toggle switches allow you to turn on or off specific visualizations such as:
- Survival
- Ethnicity
- Sex
- Race
- Patient Status
- Age at Diagnosis
Any changes update the visualizations in real time.
Exporting Results¶
For each visualization, you can export the corresponding data table by clicking the TSV button in the bottom-right corner of the panel. The exported files contain counts and percentages for both cohorts enabling external analysis or integration with statistical software.
Creating a New Cohort from Results¶
The Cohort Comparison tool allows users to define and save new cohorts derived from subsets of the compared groups.
For example:
- Save only overlapping cases (intersection of both cohorts).
- Save cohort-specific subsets (unique to one cohort).
Use the “+” icons within each results table to add groups of interest as new saved cohorts for downstream analysis.
Notes¶
- Cohort comparison currently supports clinical and demographic variables only.
- Charts and tables are dynamically generated based on available cohort metadata.
- Saved cohorts created from comparison subsets appear automatically in the Cohort Builder.
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