The PROSECCA Project
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Improving radiotherapy in PROState cancer using EleCtronic population-based healthCAre data: The PROSECCA study, answering new questions in prostate cancer
IRAS ID
306245
Contact name
William Henry/WH Nailon
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 28 days
Research summary
Methods to personalise an individual’s radiotherapy treatment have, to date, been based on biological information and the use of new radiotherapy treatment machine technology. Little or no account is taken of the vast array of data that is available for each patient from their healthcare record, the extensive digital imaging data collected at diagnosis and during treatment, and during a course of radiotherapy.
We are proposing the use of advanced computing techniques to analyse the healthcare records from 10,000+ prostate cancer patients who underwent radiotherapy in the treatment of their cancer in Scotland. Through meticulous analysis of the data from each patient’s unique healthcare history we believe that we will discover new relationships between a patient’s medical history and how well they respond to radiotherapy in treating their cancer. By establishing what factors in a patient’s complex healthcare record indicate that they may have a poor response to treatment, or an increased risk of side effects from radiation, it will be possible to identify these patients earlier and adapt their treatment accordingly. Furthermore, by identifying these important factors we would aim to improve radiotherapy treatment for prostate cancer patients in the future.
REC name
South Central - Oxford A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/SC/0402
Date of REC Opinion
17 Jan 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion