The case of Inca´s National Tumor Bank management system in Brazil

Antonio Augusto Gonçalves,Valter Moreno De Assis Jr,Claudio Pitassi

doi:10.4301/s1807-17752014000300003

Abstract

Information Technologies can provide the basis for new directions in cancer research, supplying tools that identify subtle but important signs from the analysis of clinical, behavioral, environmental and genetic data. The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the system developed for managing Banco Nacional de Tumores (SISBNT) - National Tumor Bank System - highlighting its role in the technological innovation of Instituto Nacional do Câncer (INCA) - Brazilian National Cancer Institute. It is a qualitative empirical theoretical paper, descriptive and exploratory in nature, based on the single case study method and on participant observation. The results show the importance of good practices in information management for the full operation of a biobank in a research-oriented pharmaceutical company. There is also evidence that the implementation of SISBNT has contributed to the improvement of cancer treatment quality and to the support of efforts towards the organization of the integration of clinical, translational and basic research. The non-use of data mining techniques for the identification of molecular patterns and structures associated with the different types of cancer undergoing study at INCA seems to occur due to the early stage of Bioinformatics and translational research, as well as the National Tumor Bank, in the institution.

Highlights

According to the World Health Organization, 2014, one out of eight deaths in the world is caused by cancer
This study broadens scientific knowledge in these areas, in an attempt to answer the following research question: how can modern information and communication technologies contribute to the management of technological innovation in health care, in particular in a biopharmaceutical company, which operates in an oncology therapeutic class? In this sense, the specific purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the system developed for the management of Banco Nacional de Tumores (SISBNT) – National Tumor Bank System - highlighting its role in basic, translational and clinical research at Instituto Nacional do Câncer (INCA) (Brazilian National Cancer Institute) in Brazil
In response to the previously defined research question, the analysis of INCAs Banco Nacional de Tumores (SISBNT) – National Tumor Bank System illustrates how a biobank with the support of modern information and communication technologies can contribute to the improvement of scientific research in oncology therapeutic class

Summary

Introduction

According to the World Health Organization, 2014, one out of eight deaths in the world is caused by cancer. According to the Rede Brasileira de Pesquisas sobre o Câncer – Brazilian Cancer Research Network – cancer is a disease caused by the buildup of genetic and epigenetic modifications in the genome of a normal cell. Such modifications result from errors that occur during DNA replication and exposure to mutagenic agents and agents in the cell metabolism. According to the Brazilian Cancer Research Network, “the identification of the modified genes in tumor cells which are directly related to tumorigenesis has been the main focus of cancer genetics research over the last 30 years.”

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