For each of the 579 cancer proteins with available network information (78.7% of the total), we calculate the degree, i.e. the number of interactions, the clustering coefficient, i.e. the number of interactions between primary interactors, and the betweenness, i.e. the number of shortest paths crossing the protein. These parameters return a measure of connectivity, interconnectivity and centrality, thus providing a glance of the protein topology in the network. On the basis of the network degree, we discriminate between hubs and non-hubs, where the former are defined as the top 5% most connected proteins in the network. Likewise, we identify the central nodes of the network, defined as the proteins with top 5% values of betweenness.
