COLLABORATION IN CANCER RESEARCH COMMUNITY: CANCER BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS GRID (caBIG) - Collaborative Computational Technologies for Biomedical Research - page 267

An essential element to the construction of a semantic SOA is the use of
data standards whenever appropriate. These can include standard controlled
biomedical terminology (such as the NCI Thesaurus [5], LOINC [6] for labora-
tory tests, the Common Terminology Criteria—Adverse Events, or CTCAE
[7] for adverse-event reporting, Gene Ontology [8]), data types [such as the
National Organization for Standardization (ISO) 21090 [9]], common data
element standards [such as the Clinical Data Acquisition Standards
Harmonization, or CDASH, standards [10] promulgated by the Clinical Data
Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC)], standardized clinical case
report form modules [see, e.g., the NCI's standard Case Report Form (CRF)
modules], or common information models such as the HL7 reference informa-
tion model (RIM) [11] or the BRIDG (Biomedical Research Integrated
Domain Group) model [12]. The use of these standards allows for clear and
easy aggregation of information collected by disparate groups, easier interop-
erability of information systems (see below), and easier design of clinical trials
and other research activities. The preference within the caBIG program is to
adopt existing standards rather than creating new ones. This preference is
entirely pragmatic; the use of existing standards, where adequate, allows caBIG
participants to reap the benefi ts of the substantial effort already undertaken
by other groups and ensures that new data can be compared to existing data.
The initial technical solution was to leverage and extend two existing tech-
nologies, the cancer common ontologic representation environment (caCORE)
[13] and emerging grid technologies developed as part of the Globus project
[14]. The caCORE is a software toolkit that provides a number of the capabili-
ties required to enable interoperability. It includes:
1. Enterprise Vocabulary Services ( EVS ) A series of tools for creating,
managing, and delivering controlled biomedical terminology (and other
terminological content) for use by electronic information systems [5].
EVS provides the underlying semantic content needed to understand
information when exchanged.
2. Cancer Data Standards Repository ( ca DSR ) A repository of metadata
(often called data about data) based on an extension of the ISO 11179
metamodel. The caDSR and its tools are used to create a description of
the information being transferred based on controlled biomedical termi-
nology provided by EVS. The basic unit of metadata in the caDSR is
called a Common Data Element (CDE) and it describes a single atom
of information collected during a trial or recorded by an information
system. A CDE has a formal semantic defi nition, a human-readable
description, and a “value domain” that describes what constitutes a
“ valid ” response in that fi eld.
3. ca CORE Software Development Kit ( ca CORE SDK ) A set of tools for
creating information systems that include application programming
interfaces (APIs) that facilitate access to a system and the tools neces-
sary to describe the information system in the form of caDSR CDEs
based on controlled biomedical terminology.