Science drives the development of a National Cancer Data Hub to accelerate cancer research

The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU), through the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII), is promoting the development of the National Cancer Data Hub to drive improvements in cancer research, by facilitating and organising the secure use of data generated through R&D&I on cancer. This data includes clinical, epidemiological, genomic, multi-omic, imaging, pathological and therapeutic response information.

This is an initiative of the IMPaCT Precision Medicine Infrastructure, which is being carried out as part of its Data Science Programme (IMPaCT-Data) and is jointly led by the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), the Cancer Division of the Biomedical Research Networking Centre (CIBER-ISCIII) and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center - National Supercomputing Centre (BSC-CNS).

The Minister for Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant, has emphasised that through this initiative "we are putting public science data and capabilities at the service of research to move towards increasingly precise and personalised medicine - in this case, in the fight against cancer".

"The National Cancer Data Hub represents a step forward in linking the knowledge generated by our researchers and helping to ensure that this knowledge translates into new advances in cancer research," she explained.

A shared platform for cancer research data

Data generated within the framework of research consortia and projects are usually shared amongst the participating scientific community. However, these efforts are often carried out using different access models, standards and tools, which are not always consistent.

The National Cancer Data Hub, which is already up and running in its initial phases, aims precisely to facilitate the use and reuse of this data through standards that promote its interoperability. To this end, the FAIR principles - which stand for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable - will be applied both to the data and to the software required to analyse it.

This project has been launched to align with the EU in the context of the recently established European Health Data Space, promoting the secure integration and exchange of information. The concept of a Data Node originated within the EOSC4Cancer project (coordinated by the BSC and involving more than 20 European organisations), and was developed with the participation of various stakeholders, including the CIBER Oncology Network and the CNIO, amongst other organisations.

The aim is for all stakeholders within the Spanish cancer research ecosystem that generate relevant data - research centres, hospitals, national and international projects, public authorities, and organisations supporting patients and their families - to gradually join the Node.

National and European cooperation

Sharing data and tools in a coordinated manner, both nationally and in cooperation with Europe, will enable the scientific community to work more effectively towards a better understanding of the disease.

Co-ordinated access to data will help speed up the potential discovery of new treatments and, ultimately, help improve the quality of life of patients and those around them.

Quick and easy access

The Node will provide the research community with rapid and flexible access to extensive data catalogues and computational tools for analysis, creating a shared access platform for all stakeholders in the cancer research ecosystem.

It also ensures a secure environment for the handling of oncology R&D&I data, bringing together and pooling the talent and resources of various biomedical and healthcare organisations across the country.

The initiative will also facilitate the gradual integration of the knowledge generated by existing projects, as well as by other initiatives that are launched. In carrying out this work, the Spanish node has the advantage of being one of the richest and most diverse, as it can rely on a group of organisations of scientific excellence with highly complementary capabilities for its coordination.

In this way, the National Cancer Data Hub will enable progress towards a more interconnected research ecosystem, in which data and tools can be shared and reused in a coordinated manner to improve our understanding of cancer and contribute to advances in cancer research.

Non official translation