NCI has launched a resource for cancer researchers interested in conducting studies using specimens and clinical data collected from cancer treatment trials in NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network and former NCI Cooperative Group Program.
Known as NCTN Navigator, the resource includes information about specimens, such as tumor and blood samples, donated by patients in NCI-sponsored clinical trials. The clinical trials included in Navigator are published phase 3 studies that evaluated cancer treatments.
Investigators can use the NCTN Navigator website Exit Disclaimer to search the inventory for specimens with specific characteristics. Investigators who develop proposals and get approval can use the specimens, along with the trial participants’ clinical information, in their research.
NCI has supported large cancer treatment trials for decades through what is now the NCTN. For many of the trials, donated specimens were collected and stored in NCI-funded specimen banks. The clinical data from the trials include detailed information about patient responses to treatments and their outcomes.
The NCTN Navigator inventory includes data from more than 80 trials, 50,000 patients, and 600,000 specimens.
Although the researchers who conducted these clinical trials have long been using the specimens and clinical data in studies, Navigator will now make the materials available to any investigators who submit research proposals that are approved by a scientific review board.
To ensure the optimal use of the resources in Navigator, the scientific review committee will consider the importance of a proposed project with the value of the specimens in mind.
In general, successful Navigator proposals will use the specimens and data to test a research question that builds on prior knowledge and has potential clinical implications, noted Mishkin. The specimens in Navigator will generally not be appropriate for studies that are more exploratory in nature, she added.
Before developing or submitting a research proposal to the Navigator program, investigators can perform searches on the program’s website to ensure there are specimens and related data to meet their research needs.
If they would then like to move ahead, they can use the website to submit a proposal for how they would like to use the specimens.
There is no charge for the specimens or clinical data in Navigator, but investigators with approved proposals will be responsible for the costs associated with processing and delivering the specimens and clinical data.
Although Navigator currently includes only specimens and information from adults, specimens, and data from patients with pediatric cancers are expected to be added later this year.
