Initiative to exchange cancer research information is launched
http://www.100md.com
《英国医生杂志》
Britain抯 National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) has launched an initiative to improve the exchange of information in cancer research by encouraging research groups to make their data accessible to others.
The institute announced its plans in a special statement in Nature (2004;428:xii). The plans are backed by international cancer research organisations, including the US National Cancer Institute.
"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," said Professor Alex Markham, chief executive of Cancer Research UK and current chairman of the institute.
At the moment as much as 80% of the available information from cancer studies does not find its way into the public domain, he said.
The institute, an umbrella group that includes the UK government, Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council, and the Wellcome Trust, envisages an international informatics platform that will allow access and analysis of data across disciplines, from genomics to clinical trials.
"To me, this is the most exciting but most complex thing we’ve tackled," the institute抯 administrative director, Dr Liam O’Toole, said. "If we just let things go on developing in a fragmented way, we抣l be sitting around in 10 years saying, 'Isn抰 it a shame we can抰 link all this data together.'"
"To get there, lots of things need to happen," he said. In particular, training for clinicians and others needs to be emphasised.
"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."
The institute is establishing a task force to implement the initiative, to be chaired by oncologist Richard Begent, a professor at the Royal Free and University College London Medical School. It has also set up an informatics coordination unit to act as a point of contact (www.cancerinformatics.org.uk).
Dr Andrew von Eschenbach, director of the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), voiced his support for the British plan. "NCRI抯 initiative will complement our Cancer Bioinformatics Grid (CaBIG), which is being developed by NCI in partnership with NCI supported cancer centres, and private sector companies, as an open source, common standards research platform," he said.
"CaBIG and NCRI will play an essential role in accelerating our ability to eliminate suffering and death due to cancer," he added.(London Stephen Pincock)
The institute announced its plans in a special statement in Nature (2004;428:xii). The plans are backed by international cancer research organisations, including the US National Cancer Institute.
"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," said Professor Alex Markham, chief executive of Cancer Research UK and current chairman of the institute.
At the moment as much as 80% of the available information from cancer studies does not find its way into the public domain, he said.
The institute, an umbrella group that includes the UK government, Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council, and the Wellcome Trust, envisages an international informatics platform that will allow access and analysis of data across disciplines, from genomics to clinical trials.
"To me, this is the most exciting but most complex thing we’ve tackled," the institute抯 administrative director, Dr Liam O’Toole, said. "If we just let things go on developing in a fragmented way, we抣l be sitting around in 10 years saying, 'Isn抰 it a shame we can抰 link all this data together.'"
"To get there, lots of things need to happen," he said. In particular, training for clinicians and others needs to be emphasised.
"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."
The institute is establishing a task force to implement the initiative, to be chaired by oncologist Richard Begent, a professor at the Royal Free and University College London Medical School. It has also set up an informatics coordination unit to act as a point of contact (www.cancerinformatics.org.uk).
Dr Andrew von Eschenbach, director of the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), voiced his support for the British plan. "NCRI抯 initiative will complement our Cancer Bioinformatics Grid (CaBIG), which is being developed by NCI in partnership with NCI supported cancer centres, and private sector companies, as an open source, common standards research platform," he said.
"CaBIG and NCRI will play an essential role in accelerating our ability to eliminate suffering and death due to cancer," he added.(London Stephen Pincock)