A new study showcases how a unique NHS–industry–start-up collaboration overcame critical oncology data management challenges to enable multi-disciplinary oncology research
Published in the European Journal of Cancer, the CUP-COMP consortium details how it successfully designed and delivered a secure multi-stakeholder data lake as a blueprint for sharing clinical and molecular oncology data.
Healthcare data is highly sensitive and often fragmented, as the systems for managing them were not designed for cross-site collaboration. The study outlines how by pooling expertise across sectors, the partnership was able to streamline data access and create a scalable framework for future research which could be replicated in other systems, overcoming many of the hurdles that have impeded patient-centric innovative projects in the past.
Funded by Innovate UK, the study is a result of a collaboration between The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Roche Products Ltd, Concr Ltd and Durham University, working together on better diagnostic and digital solutions for patients with Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP). The CUP-COMP project required handling of large-scale genomic data from tissue and liquid biopsies, clinical patient data and ability to combine it all for predictive analytics.
“Oncology trials are increasingly reliant on genomics for tailoring and stratifying patients to treatment. The wealth of data generated in studies, combined with clinical outcome data is invaluable for further research and study, but challenges exist in sharing, protecting and accessing this data especially patient sensitive data.” explained Dr Alicia-Marie Conway, Academic Clinical Lecturer The University of Manchester and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, and lead author.
“This paper really highlights the challenges faced when attempting cross-sector collaborative trials but provides advice, solutions and frameworks of how to overcome these challenges to drive a better understanding of the data that may have real impact for patients of the future.” added Dr Conway.
More than a hundred patients’ data were successfully integrated and analysed during the study, demonstrating that large-scale, multi-site collaboration is possible when the right infrastructure and governance are in place. Concr provided technical and governance expertise to support security, access management, and platform reliability, contributing to the software design, methodology, and daily operation of the cloud-based system. The system underwent a full NHS governance review and GDPR assessment before going live.
“CUP-COMP shows what’s possible when infrastructure is designed for both governance and real-world use.” said Barney Plummer, Concr's Head of Product Development and co-author of the study. “That same approach drives how we’ve built FarrSight®, ensuring our platform can operate securely and reliably across settings and under complex data requirements.”
For Concr, the project reflects a core principle: technology in healthcare only succeeds when it is practical, secure, and trusted by all stakeholders. As health systems invest in digital and AI oncology solutions, this study adds a proven reproducible model to a field long dominated by bespoke builds and stalled pilots.
Read the full paper here and get in touch to explore partnership opportunities. You can also find further details about the CUP-COMP study here.
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