Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology (CBIIT) contributors, with a team led by Science Program Analyst Denise Warzel, collaborated with fellow NCI colleague Dr. Paula Jacobs of the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD) and others on a recently published article, “Call for Data Standardization: Lessons Learned and Recommendations in an Imaging Study.”

In this study, the team sought to uncover new approaches to reduce the burden of retrospective data harmonization from heterogeneous systems for researchers leveraging existing data. Using files from The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA) and data elements from the Genomic Data Commons (GDC), investigators explored retrospective harmonization for cross-study query and aggregation. They recognized and revealed issues when trying to reuse existing data and developed recommendations for reducing the burden of retrospective harmonization, including the development of national infrastructure to address these issues.

Read the article in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.