Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world today and recent innovations in capturing and using data to care for cancer patients have proven to be effective. Therapists and doctors can use a common platform in accessing information about previous data treatments and make proper decisions on the appropriate means to care for cancer patients. In this paper, a specific health issue will be examined and a solution provided using an innovative approach.
Research and Treatment of Cancer using Data
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death today and it resulted to the death of more than 8 million people in 2015 alone. Cancer is becoming more prevalent as time goes by and research estimates an expected rise of about 70% in cancer cases in two decades time (Nalley, 2017). Research on treatment of cancer has made great strides over the last thirty years and the survival rates have doubled as well (Edwards, 2014). However, the general cure of cancer is yet to be found and several innovations have been in place to find its cure.
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The main problem in treating and curing cancer is the fact that cancer is not actually a single disease but hundreds of cancerous tumors that are different in nature. Moreover, each tumor develops and grows uniquely and possesses billions of cells that are able to mutate and vary genetically each time they divide (O’Connor, 2013). This character trait of cancerous cells makes it too complex to eradicate since its moves are completely unpredictable. Cancer cases also vary between patients and it is difficult to find two cancers that have the same characteristics and no one precisely knows the parameters that can be used to control the fate of cancer in any patient (O’Connor, 2013). However, data obtained from treating cancer cases is the key knowledge that can change the cancer patient’s life. Doctors and scientists are now opting to use data obtained from cancer cases to find a possible solution in predicting how cancer cells divide.
How Data can be used to Research and Treat Cancer and its History
The journey of transforming cancer treatment by the use of digital technologies was first implemented in Heidelberg, Germany at the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) (Edwards, 2014). The type of technology that was used identified tumor markers basing on notes from physicians. Physicians can now search both tumor registries and local case histories to identify similar groups of patients that have already been treated (O’Connor, 2013). This helps both the patient and doctor to understand the outcomes from various therapies.
CancerLinQ innovation in Treatment of Cancer using Data
In relation to the use of data to treat cancer, the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has also made several contributions by developing CancerLinQ (Cancer Learning Intelligence Network for Quality) initiative (Nalley, 2017). This is a state of the art Health Information Technology platform that is used to integrate data from over 100 clinics and more than 1 million patients (Butcher, 2015). This platform is effective in helping oncologists in decision making during treatments. In addition to that, a network effect created by the tool stores large amounts of clinical data that can be used for reference purposes (Edwards, 2014). Real-time collection of data is enhanced by the innovative platform which is vital making key clinical decisions.
Data visualization and mining is also enhanced by the tool for efficient and quality feedback of information necessary in decision making. In 2013, the prototype version of the tool was released in a supercomputer network that was designed to track down and analyze real-time data from thousands of patients with breast cancer. Eventually, the tool was used in examining millions of different cancer cases in the entire country (Edwards, 2014). After its full transformation and implementation, CancerLinQ is now in a better position to transform cancer care and treatment through unlocking large amounts of information and also enabling cancer patients to be potential cancer knowledge benefactor.
Advantages of CancerLinQ
CancerLinQ has many advantages to the stakeholders in the health industry in several ways. To begin with, the state of the art platform increased the number of examinable cancer patients, which was initially 3% (Nalley, 2017). The examination of the remaining 97% of data from cancer patients has been facilitated by the innovative technology hence making healthcare professionals able to have a deeper understanding of the ailment. Oncologists are also able to deliver significant improvements in in healthcare to cancer patients by analyzing Big Data stored using the innovative system (Nalley, 2017). Moreover, the platform will be able to provide real-time feedback that is of better reliable and quality basing on aggregated reports.
By the use of the patient treatment history, the platform will also enable physicians to choose right therapies for cancer patients instead of relying on other unreliable information sources and databases (O’Connor, 2013). The platform, which is meant to analyze and organize real-world data on cancer care, will enable physicians make better and informed choices in treating the patients basing on similar experiences and clinical guidelines (Butcher, 2015). Insurance companies can also use the platform to increase efficiencies in presenting patient data to support the coverage of cancer care and comparing the outcomes. Basically, the analytical capabilities of the platform are vital in uncovering hidden cancer trends that can be used in improving cancer care.
Limitations of CancerLinQ
Despite of the numerous advantages of the platform, healthcare stakeholders can also experience some setbacks while using it. Firstly, the perception of the platform raised issues relating to patient confidentiality (Nalley, 2017). The perceptions given by unfamiliar patients raised eyebrows regarding their confidence in the platform on grounds that the data obtained could be re-identified (Butcher, 2015). Inclusion of genetic information in the platform’s database is also a limitation since the data may fall in the wrong hands and used for other wrong purposes.
Recommendations for Improving CancerLinQ
For CancerLinQ to be more effective, the system should capture as much data as possible on willing cancer patients. This will increase accessible data on cancerous cases over which doctors and physicians can analyze and interpret (Nalley, 2017). Moreover, the platform should be more efficient and interoperable and other healthcare providers should easily access the information from the platform’s database. Surviving patients should also have a choice to access their stored outcomes and even use them in other places for further analysis (Butcher, 2015). Above all, the consent of the cancer patients should be the first priority while obtaining the patient’s data especially when diagnosing new cancer patients. Cancer patients should sign documents allowing the hospital to use their data in further research.
Conclusion
In sum, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world today and more than 8 million patients were killed from the predicament in 2015 alone. Recent advancements have taken place in cancer care with the use of technology to capture and use useful data. In relation to the use of data in cancer care, the ASCO Corporation developed the CancerLinQ platform to capture data from previous cancer treatments and use it to make appropriate decisions in performing therapies and caring for cancer patients.
References
BUTCHER, L. (2015). CancerLinQ Advancing Quickly. Oncology Times , 37 (4), 16.
Edwards, C. (2014). Using Patient Data for Personalized Cancer Treatments. Communications of the ACM , 57 (4), 13–15. https://doi.org/10.1145/2581892
Nalley, C. (2017). ASCO 2017: Enhancing Your Role in Cancer Care. (cover story). Oncology Times , 39 (10), 1.
O’connor, F. (2013). Health-IT early adopters examining big data. Network World , 30 (6), 14–15.
