In 2017, ASCO announced the launch of its Center for Research and Analytics (CENTRA). CENTRA’s mission is to conquer cancer by generating, integrating, analyzing, and sharing oncology data to foster innovation in research and patient care. CENTRA aims to make its cancer data available to the oncology community and provide consultation and support for research and analysis. Through CENTRA, ASCO members can access a wide array of ASCO data and be a part of ASCO’s Member Research Survey Pool to help uncover new insights and findings in cancer care.
Since its founding, ASCO has been committed to advancing the field of oncology and improving cancer care through the application of high-quality evidence. CENTRA is helping ASCO analyze and build an evidence base that can help strengthen cancer policies, advance the practice of oncology, and improve cancer care for patients.
To help guide the program, ASCO appointed Elizabeth Garrett-Mayer, PhD, to serve as CENTRA’s Division Director of Biostatistics and Research Data Governance. She joined ASCO from the Medical University of South Carolina, where she served as Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Division Director in the Department of Public Health Sciences and Director of Biostatistics for Hollings Cancer Center. Dr. Garrett-Mayer received her PhD in biostatistics from Johns Hopkins University and her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics from Bowdoin College.
In addition, longtime ASCO employee Suanna Steeby Bruinooge, MPH, serves as CENTRA’s Division Director of Research Strategy and Operations. Ms. Bruinooge worked with ASCO Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, and CENTRA leader Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FACP, FSCT, FASCO, to develop and launch the successful Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR™) Study. Prior to joining CENTRA’s leadership, Ms. Bruinooge led the Research Policy Division of the ASCO Policy and Advocacy Department. She earned her MPH from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University.
Over the past 2 years, Dr. Garrett-Mayer and Ms. Bruinooge have played critical roles in shaping CENTRA and expanding ASCO’s capabilities in data analysis and research.
ASCO’s repository of cancer-related data will continue to grow in the coming months and years as the CENTRA team works to identify and fill knowledge gaps that persist in cancer care. CENTRA will significantly increase ASCO’s capacity to support the research programs of ASCO members, as well as ASCO’s own research initiatives and to increase the utility, accessibility, and impact of ASCO’s existing and future data projects.
Below are two ways that you can engage with CENTRA:
1. ASCO Member Research Survey Pool
It is CENTRA’s belief that the immense knowledge and experience of ASCO’s membership will help to accelerate the development of new insights and findings to improve cancer care and care delivery. Therefore, CENTRA is assembling a cohort of ASCO members who are willing to participate in survey-based projects for research purposes. Members who complete surveys will receive points toward the Fellow of ASCO (FASCO) designation and a recognition ribbon at the ASCO Annual Meeting for their service to the Society.
Members who are willing to participate in surveys can join the Member Research Survey Pool at any time by:
- Going to profile.asco.org
- Signing in with your member username and password
- Selecting “Consent” in the “Personal Info & Privacy” box on your member profile
- Clicking the button next to “Yes” to opt in to participate
- By clicking “Yes,” you agree to be contacted about participation in research surveys. You may opt out of the survey pool at any time by updating the “Consent” tab in your ASCO member profile.
2. ASCO Data Library
CENTRA has developed the ASCO Data Library (asco.org/research-progress/asco-data-library), an expanding collection of ASCO data and information that qualified individuals and organizations may request for research purposes. The collection currently contains several types of ASCO information, including:
- CancerLinQ Discovery® data
- ASCO Practice Census data
- Scientific meeting abstracts
- National Cancer Opinion Survey findings
- Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) data
- Medical Oncology In-Training Exam (MedOnc ITE) results.
CENTRA manages the data request review process and will also facilitate requests for data sets that will be available from ASCO’s TAPUR Study later in 2019. ■
Originally published in ASCO Connection. “Engage With CENTRA: ASCO’s Center for Research and Analytics.” ASCO Connection, May 2019. © American Society of Clinical Oncology. All rights reserved.
