Correction of copy number variation data using principal component analysis

Copy number variation (CNV) detection using SNP array data is challenging due to the low signal-to-noise ratio. In this study, we propose a principal component analysis (PCA) based correction to eliminate variance in CNV data induced by potential confounding factors. Simulations show a substantial improvement in CNV detection accuracy after correction. We also observe a significant improvement in data quality in real SNP array data after correction.