Work Package 1

Collection, linkage and analysis of nationally available cancer and molecular data

Work package 1 is split into three distinct pathways with the overall aim of utilising nationally available datasets for generating evidence of the risks relating to cancer susceptibility genes and effectiveness of clinical interventions in different populations to inform clinical decision-making.

Collection

In 2018, the National Disease Registration Service initiated the collection of germline cancer predisposition genetic data from UK NHS laboratories.

The team at Public Health England/Health Data Insight will continue the collection and restructuring of the data, making it available within the National Cancer Registry for analysis and national audits of the service.

More information about the NDRS molecular and genetic dataset can be found here.

Linkage

Once the germline genetic data collected from labs is made available within the National Cancer Registry, the data can be linked to additional datasets by our experienced Data Manager at the University of Oxford.

CanGene-CanVar have received Health Research Authority and Research Ethics Committee approval to make pseudonymised, linked datasets available for analyses by approved researchers within a secure trusted research environment.

Analyses

Our programme researchers, including Clinical Fellows and PhD students at the University of Cambridge and Institute of Cancer Research, will be utilising the linked datasets to address specific questions relating to cancer predisposition genetics and clinical care.

Some examples of projects include: secondary cancer risks, outcomes following risk-reducing surgery, and treatment outcomes for breast cancer patients with high risk cancer susceptibility gene variants.