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| CSIRO | SOLVE | Issue 7 | May 06 | |
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ARTICLE
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY:
ICT Joins Cancer Fight By Rebecca Thyer
CSIRO’s ICT skills in linking disparate data are also helping to improve people’s health. Working with the Preventative Health Flagship – which aims to improve health and wellbeing through the prevention and early detection of a range of chronic diseases – ICT know-how is being used to link information about different aspects of a person’s medical treatment. Although a wealth of health data exists, pulling it together can be difficult, says Marilla O’Dwyer, senior consultant with the Brisbane-based e-Health Research Centre (EHRC), a $15 million joint venture between CSIRO and the Queensland Government. “The ICT Centre through EHRC provides the technology to facilitate those linkages,” she says. Ms O’Dwyer is working with the Royal Melbourne Hospital on a project to provide better outcomes for patients with, or at risk of, colorectal cancer, which affects one in 21 Australians. Using sophisticated linking algorithms, EHRC is able to link clinical information, such as the stage and site of a cancer, to chemotherapy and radiography information. “By getting complete records together, doctors are better able to monitor treatment outcomes and improve patient services,” Ms O’Dwyer says. “A lot of the time data is held in different places and systems. We’re bringing it all together – while still maintaining the privacy of each individual.” The ability to link data is also helping further research. “We’re helping the Royal Melbourne Hospital with prevention work, specifically on assessing screening methods.” The work involves determining the sensitivity and specificity of screening technologies for colorectal cancer by comparison with the gold standard of colonoscopy, through a high-risk surveillance program. This information will inform the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, which will be rolled out to Australians turning 55 and 65 years old in 2006. Although the exact cause of colorectal cancer is unknown, some people are at higher risk due to familial factors, such as inherited genetic mutations. Yet colorectal cancer can be successfully treated if detected early in its development. Using the Centre’s Health Data Integration software, more than 25 years of comprehensive bowel cancer screening information is being analysed. Ongoing work will look at outcomes for high-risk groups such as those with both parents affected by colorectal cancer, and outcomes for those with gene mutations known to increase risks. Further analysis, including relationships between surgical outcomes and the screening program, may also be undertaken using links between disparate databases. For further information contact: |
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