 Virtual community of
cancer researchers created
A pioneering initiative to create a virtual community of researchers with
access to a vast array of previously unavailable scientific data has been
launched in the journal Nature.
The international enterprise forms part of a grand vision — labelled the
Strategic Framework — to revolutionise medical science by fostering a new
era of co-operation and information exchange.
The UK’s National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) outlined its plans in
a special statement in the journal, backed by many of the world’s leading
cancer organisations, including the US National Cancer Institute.
There have been dramatic advances across medical research in recent
years, in areas as diverse as genomics, proteomics, and clinical trials.
Scientists are generating more data than ever before, up to 80% of which
remains unpublished and unanalysed. Furthermore, one scientist’s data is
rarely compatible with another’s, making it very hard for different research
groups to exchange information.
The NCRI — umbrella body of the UK’s main cancer funding bodies,
including the Government, Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council
and the Wellcome Trust — recognises the need for faster, better ways of
accessing, analysing and disseminating research data to accelerate the
development of better cancer treatments. Informatics is already becoming
integral to biomedical research and has the potential to revolutionise
cancer medicine in the future from the ways drugs are developed to the way
they are used in the clinic.
Through the NCRI, scientists in different fields of cancer research will
aim to reach agreement on how best to record data in areas as different as
epidemiology, genomics and medical imaging, making it accessible to the
wider research community.
Central to the initiative is building upon existing strengths and
expertise. In order to achieve this vision, a task force comprised of
experts from across the cancer informatics spectrum will be established to
implement the initiative and advise the NCRI partners. Professor Richard
Begent, a world-renowned medical oncologist, has been invited to chair the
task force.
An Informatics Coordination Unit has been established to act as a point
of contact with the community and they are compiling a map of current
activity in the form of an online planning matrix (www.cancerinformatics.org.uk
 ).
Professor Alex Markham, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK and current
Chairman of the NCRI, says: “At the moment, there’s such a baffling array of
data being generated that scientists simply can’t keep up, and up to 80% of
the available information is never finding its way into the public domain.
"For the good of cancer patients worldwide, we need to make the best
possible use of every pound spent on research and that means making
scientific results available.
“Our vision is to create a culture of data exchange to bring scientists
together in a virtual community, where data can be shared in a format that
everyone will understand. We want to make sure that new discoveries will
spread outwards throughout the cancer research community much more quickly
than happens now, speeding the process of understanding cancer and
developing new treatments."
Dr Andrew von Eschenbach, Director of the US National Cancer Institute,
says: “NCI is dedicated to helping form a community that openly shares
scientific data and information management tools so that everyone can work
more effectively and reduce the time it takes to develop new cancer
interventions.”
“NCRI’s initiative will complement our Cancer Bioinformatics Grid (CaBIG),
which is being developed by NCI in partnership with NCI supported Cancer
Centers, and private sector companies, as an open source, common standards
research platform. CaBIG and NCRI will play an essential role in
accelerating our ability to eliminate suffering and death due to cancer.
The NCRI Framework will encourage scientists to come together as a
community to address these issues.
Dr Liam O’Toole, Administrative Director of the NCRI, says: “This is an
ambitious project which requires the community to embrace cultural change in
order to maximise the results of research and enable us to do science which
would not otherwise be possible.
“At every stage of a research project, we are encouraging scientists to
think about how their results can be shared with colleagues elsewhere in a
way that is easily understandable to others. Our website and its matrix will
provide a forum for scientists to talk together in a common language.”
Further information regarding the NCI CaBIG initiative can be found at:
http://caBIG.nci.nih.gov
For media enquiries, please contact Richard Hoey in Cancer Research UK’s
press office on 020-7061 8300/8308 or, out-of-hours, the duty press officer
on 07050 264 059. |
