The Big Data Gospel came up to build a cancer database to help treat

According to foreign media reports, the American Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) today will unveil a project to help cancer treatment with big data. The project will  data on the diagnosis and treatment of tens of thousands of cancer patients to guide other patients in the medical system. The cancer doctor will be able to search the database like Google, and get advice on treatment strategies based on the treatments of other similar cases in the United States.

This is the latest example of the medical profession's use of "big data" to improve the level of diagnosis and treatment. It shows that it is increasingly hoped that information extracted from the vast clinical database can accelerate the understanding of the pros and cons of the diagnosis and treatment, improve the quality of treatments and promote the development of new drugs.

"About 1.6 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer every year," says Allen Lichter Allen Lichter, ASCO chief executive, but in more than 95% of cases, patients ' detailed treatment information "is locked in medical files and filing cabinets or in an electronic system that is not networked," Gather them together to get a treasure trove of information. ”

The collection and analysis of a large amount of medical data is challenging. ASCO says it has solved one of the big problems by developing software that can receive clinical information from virtually all electronic health records.

In this project called CANCERLINQ, almost all patients will become clinical subjects. The system will data that doctors usually record on medical records, such as age, sex, drugs and other diseases, diagnosis, treatment until death. With enough patient data to be pooled, doctors can use the database to help develop treatment options for other patients. ASCO says the database can also help treat rare cancers, such as those that oncologists have seen only a few times in their careers.

To protect patients ' privacy, ASCO says, only doctors and researchers can access the database. In addition, they plan to develop a portal site that allows patients to provide information after treatment, but cannot browse the database.

(Responsible editor: The good of the Legacy)