Program Information
The Cancer Imaging Archive: Supporting Radiomic and Imaging Genomic Research with Open-Access Data Sets
J Kirby1*, L Tarbox2 , J Freymann1 , C Jaffe3 , F Prior2 , (1) Cancer Imaging Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, (2) Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, (3) Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Presentations
TU-AB-BRA-3 (Tuesday, July 14, 2015) 7:30 AM - 9:30 AM Room: Ballroom A
Purpose:
Lack of reproducibility in scientific research, particularly in healthcare, has become an increasing problem in recent years. This is especially important in the emerging field of radiomics/radiogenomics where large data sets and huge numbers of feature variables lead to an increased risk of spurious correlations which are not actually driven by biology. To address this problem we have developed an open-access database called The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA) which allows researchers to share the original image data necessary to accurately compare and validate research methods.
Methods:
Scalable processes for data de-identification were developed which leverage DICOM (PS 3.15 Annex E) standards to ensure compliance with HIPAA regulations. Submission software is customized for each new data set and a team of trained experts assist submitters with the upload process. Data are organized into collections related to a particular cancer type, modality, or research question. Collections may be open-access or restricted to specific users. Users may browse and download the data via their web browser or using programmatic interfaces. Digital object identifiers can be created to allow easy re-use of data or citations in related publications. A helpdesk is available to answer questions from TCIA users.
Results:
TCIA contains over 52 data collections (46 publicly accessible) for a total of 26.5 million images and associated data. Sixteen of the TCIA data collections support radiogenomics research by linking imaging from subjects with genomic, clinical and pathology data that are available on The Cancer Genome Atlas data portal or Gene Expression Omnibus. Approximately 3,000 users visit the site monthly. More than 90 manuscripts and 12 DOIs have been published relating to TCIA data.
Conclusion:
TCIA provides a wealth of high-value imaging data to the imaging research community, as well as comprehensive services required to support its user community and facilitate continued growth.
Funding Support, Disclosures, and Conflict of Interest: Funded by NCI Contract No. HHSN261200800001E
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