|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PREDICT
Published: October 26, 2009 Overview
PREDICT stands for Personal Response Determinants in Cancer Therapy. The PREDICT project has been developed at the BC Cancer Agency's Vancouver Island Centre (VIC) by multidisciplinary teams to engage all staff and all new cancer patients in the process of research to improve care. PREDICT provides a unique platform to support specific research into host factors, such as the patient’s immune system and adverse reactions to therapy, that influence the outcome to cancer therapies. It is unique in Canadian cancer centres and other BC Cancer Agency centres are currently planning to emulate it.
PREDICT was developed through design and pilot phases since early 2006, until finally becoming a formal program in 2008. It is now a part of our daily life and culture, driven centre-wide by staff, volunteers and, most importantly, new patients. Less than 10% staff and patients were once involved in research at our centre; now, the entire staff and 70% of all new patients are approached and over 90% choose to become involved in the project by providing a blood sample and permission to be contacted to discuss future research projects.
Objectives
The goals of PREDICT are to:
-
engage 75% of new patients and staff at the VIC in a common research endeavor that changes the culture of a cancer centre;
-
create a population-scale biobank of blood samples obtained prior to initiation of systemic therapy from 20,000 new cancer patients; and
-
obtain permission from all new patients to be contacted to participate in future research projects, overcoming ethical and logistical hurdles to translational health research.
|
|
|