Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, and accounts for 9 % of all cancer deaths in men. Currently, it is hard to predict which patients will respond best to different treatments, and which patients can be managed safely without undergoing treatment. The aim of PIONEER is to use big data to address key knowledge gaps related to the screening, diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer patients. To do this, they will standardise and integrate existing ‘big data’ from sources such as clinical trials and electronic health records into a single, innovative data platform. The project will draw on this database to identify ways to improve prostate cancer outcomes and health system efficiency. The project will apply FAIR (‘findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable’) principles to the data. Ultimately, the project results should feed back into clinical centres so that patients can benefit from the best possible care.
PIONEER is part of IMI’s Big Data for Better Outcomes (BD4BO) programme.