Can the Crowd Help Improve Prostate Cancer Outcomes?
Prostate cancer is one of the biggest killers of men in several countries according to the World Cancer Research Fund International. And in recent years, incidence rates have increased dramatically.
To better predict survival, disease progression and treatment toxicity a new crowd-based project has been launched – The Prostate Cancer DREAM Challenge.
The open innovation project marries crowdsourcing with data sharing and is inviting researchers, scientists, data whizzes and number crunchers to find solutions to two key clinical research areas of an advanced form of the disease – metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).
- Predict survival for prostate cancer patients using clinical data
- Predict treatment discontinuation for prostate cancer patients treated with docetaxel (a chemotherapy medication)
Participants will be using previously unavailable clinical data, and if successful, their work will improve understanding of the progression of the disease and have an impact on clinical decision making.
Unique Opportunity
“The Prostate Cancer DREAM Challenge is a truly unique opportunity to find solutions that can lead to better outcomes for thousands of men with advanced disease,” said Howard Scher, MD, Chief Genitourinary Oncology Services, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, a member of the science team behind the challenge.
Incentives
Among the incentives for participants (in addition to finding world-class solutions) is to be listed as co-author on a subsequent manuscript that will be submitted to the journal Nature Biotechnology. Prize money may also be offered. Currently, the challenge website says that details about this will be forthcoming.
The crowdsourcing challenge is open until July 27. Click here for more details and to take part.
Reader Comments
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Posted by Predrag Piljic on March 27, 2015
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