Highly significantly affected upstream regulators in our data set were v-myc myelocytomatosis viral related oncogene (neuroblastoma derived, MYCN), the T cell receptor complex TCR, the CD40 ligand (CD40LG), CD28, E2F transcription factor 1 (E2F1), interleukin 2 (IL2), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFB1), CD3, and microRNAs miR-30c-5p, miR-155-5p and miR-124-3p (Table 2, Additional file 13). The gene discussed is E2F1; the disease is neuroblastoma.