Director’s Note

This issue of caBIG™ Links focuses on how caBIG™ tools, infrastructure, and standards can improve clinical trials management, especially across multi-center trials. One of the major benefits of the clinical trials software being developed by caBIG™ is that it allows an institution to easily adapt its existing software to work in conjunction with caBIG™ standards and common data elements.   

This concept is explored in “Improving Efficiency of Clinical Trials with C3PR,” which describes how the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University and the Lombardi MedStar Research Network are utilizing caBIG™ clinical trials software, in particular the Cancer Central Clinical Participant Registry (C3PR). This article also features advice from Lombardi researchers for newcomers interested in adopting caBIG™ practices.

“C3PR: Enabling Cross-Institutional Clinical Trials Management” provides a high-level overview of C3PR, including details about how C3PR helps to streamline the patient registration process among multiple research centers. Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center is currently leading the development of version 2.0 of C3PR, which is scheduled for release in early 2008 and will be offered as part of the Clinical Trials Compatibility Framework.

As we enter the New Year, we will continue to expand caBIG™ infrastructure and tools to enable researchers to collect, analyze, and share data across research centers, with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes. We look forward to increased adoption and collaboration as we move forward, and encourage you in your own efforts to get connected with caBIG™.

Sincerely,   

Kenneth H. Buetow, Ph.D.
NCI Associate Director for Bioinformatics and Information Technologies
National Cancer Institute