Elsevier

Oral Oncology

Volume 98, November 2019, Pages 8-12
Oral Oncology

Review
The potential use of big data in oncology

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oraloncology.2019.09.003Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • Addresses the potential utility of big data in head and neck oncology.

  • Touches upon the integration of clinical, pathological and QoL data.

  • Touches upon the potential challenges regarding data governance and FAIRification of big data.

Abstract

In this era of information technology, big data analysis is entering biomedical sciences. But what is big data, where do they come from and what can we do with it? In this commentary, the main sources of big data are explained, especially in (head and neck) oncology. It also touches upon the need to integrate various sources of clinical, pathological and quality-of-life data. It discusses some initiatives in linking of such datasets on a nation-wide scale in the Netherlands. Finally, it touches upon important issues regarding governance, FAIRness of data and the need to bring into place the necessary infrastructures needed to fully exploit the full potential of big data sets in head and neck cancer.

Keywords

Big data
Personalized medicine
Head and neck cancer
FAIR data

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