UK Computer Aided Theragnostics (ukCAT)
Research type
Research Database
IRAS ID
187386
Contact name
Gareth Price
Contact email
Research summary
UK Computer Aided Theragnostics (ukCAT)
REC name
North West - Haydock Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/NW/0060
Date of REC Opinion
28 Feb 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion
Data collection arrangements
The ukCAT system collects anonymous data about all patients, their disease and the outcome of treatment and uses this information to build computer models which, in the future, may potentially be used to predict outcomes for new patients. In addition to records of non-identifiable patient characterisics (e.g. age, gender, performance status), disease type (cancer type and stage) and treatments (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy), the system also performs calculations on scan images including information such as tumour size and shape.
A potential problem in creating computer models is that the amount of data used is too small or not representative of all patients. A way around this is to combine data from many different hospitals to ensure the amount of data is large and varied, resulting in higher quality models. However, anonymous medical information must be treated very carefully to ensure it remains secure. The CAT system allows models to use data from around the world without any data ever leaving the hospital where it is stored. The models comes to the data, data never leaves an institution.
Research programme
Computer Aided Theragnostics (CAT) is the use of large population-based cancer patient data that aims to develop our understanding of patients, imaging and treatment characteristics linked to outcome (e.g. toxicity and survival). Ultimately the development of theragnostics will lead to the individualisation of treatment based on population data as opposed to selected patients included in clinical trials. However this tailored approach will have to be tested in prospective clinical trials and is not part of this application. One aim of the project will be to develop computer models linking outcome (survival, side effects) to individual patient characteristics, scan image results, markers in blood and tissue and treatment. The models learn from previously treated patients to provide individual predictions of the potential help and harm of a particular therapy for each new patient.
Research database title
UK Computer Aided Theragnostics (ukCAT)
Establishment organisation
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
Establishment organisation address
Wilmslow Road
Withington
Manchester
M20 4BX