At the ASCO meeting in Orlando last month, it was clear that momentum is building for an intensified research push against cancer. Data were released on the potential benefits of certain molecularly-targeted therapies. Cancer collaborations were announced between biotech and Big Pharma firms. Everyone noticed that some 800+ new products against cancer are in clinical development by the nation's pharmaceutical innovators. And, talk circulated about another Big Pharma company launching a molecular diagnostics division, evidence of the focus on identifying biomarkers and sub-grouping patient populations.
At the same time, an article appeared in Science Progress that examined our nation's progress in the war on cancer over the last fifty years, noting that the traditional model for clinical trials is not adequate because it does not enroll more than a tiny percentage of the cancer patient population, and does not capture the wealth of information from off-label drug use that contains patterns of what is truly effective.
Author Merrill Goozner notes in the article that the treatment of childhood cancers — where virtually all children are part of clinical studies, and survival rates are now more than 80 percent — reveals the value of linking research to care. While he does not believe that adult cancer can be conquered in the same way, he points to the need to connect research and care into a single, dynamic ecosystem, positing that a successful war on cancer must turn "the treatment system into a research and learning system that can teach oncologists the best use of the weapons they already have." caBIG® — by linking the 60+ NCI-designated Cancer Centers — is the foundation for achieving such a system, he believes.
This article reflects the growing consensus — both inside and outside of the scientific community — around the value of connecting our biomedical enterprise from end to end. Such connectivity can provide a "virtuous circle" as clinical outcomes feed new research hypotheses, and clinical development of new therapies can rapidly be translated into clinical practice. One further advantage of such an approach is perhaps even more compelling — that is, it will enable a level of participation on the part of patients and consumers that is unprecedented. In such a model, each of us can offer to participate in research, and all of us can volunteer to use our genomic profiles and clinical histories to build a wellspring of knowledge.
We in biomedicine like to believe that we have invented this new concept of seamless information exchange. But of course most other fields of endeavor in our modern society have already joined the so-called "knowledge economy" that biomedicine is now entering. Fortunately, we can take advantage of what others have built in information technology. Today, we starting to conduct our work through the Cancer Knowledge Cloud — a caGrid-supported platform enabling remote access to data, analytical tools, and computing power — that can bridge the slow, linear and expensive disconnects of the 20th century. Through caBIG® in the Cancer Knowledge Cloud, we can increase the velocity of information flow, liberate the knowledge, and improve the rate of discovery and the impact of clinical care.
In this issue of LINKS, we explore the NCI's investment in resources designed to assist institutions who are already connecting to caBIG®, as well as providing case studies to guide – and perhaps inspire – those who are curious about joining the caBIG® community.
I invite you to visit the ESN and the new caBIG® Consumer/User Website to explore the opportunities that may exist for you or your organization to join us "up in the cloud."
Sincerely,
Ken
Director, NCI Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology
June 1, 2009
