Brain cancer is a rare disease, making it crucial to bring together existing data so researchers and clinicians can continually access and learn from every patient’s experience. Connecting this information can accelerate research and support more informed, personalised decision-making at the point of care.
This is where the new BRAIN-SCAN platform comes in. Developed by The Brain Cancer Centre (‘the centre’) with support from NIF, BRAIN-SCAN enables brain cancer imaging data to be securely shared and analysed across universities, hospitals, health centres, and other research and clinical institutions.
Despite significant advances in cancer research over the past three decades, five-year survival rates for brain cancer in Australia remains around 23%, highlighting the urgent need for new approaches to understanding and treating it. Dr Lizzie Mason is the Senior Program Manager for Digital Strategy and Infrastructure at The Brain Cancer Centre, located at WEHI.
“By connecting data and cohorts from across Australia, we can build a national data asset for brain cancer that gives clinicians access to the breadth of evidence needed to support point-of-care decision-making, something that is difficult to do today when this information is fragmented across institutions,” Dr Mason said.
“Our vision at The Brain Cancer Centre is that no more lives will be lost to brain cancer, and together we can make it a treatable disease.”
The four foundational sites that currently contribute images to BRAIN-SCAN are NIF partners the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital, and the Royal Melbourne Hospital and GenesisCare (Newcastle).
BRAIN-SCAN brings together complementary expertise from across Australia’s national imaging infrastructure. BRAIN-SCAN’s XNAT repository sits with the WA NIF Node the University of Western Australia on Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre infrastructure. Specialist brain cancer imaging informatics expertise is led by the NIF Node Hunter Medical Research Institute, collaborating with the Mark Hughes Foundation with strong support from the Australian Imaging Service (AIS) and Sydney Neuroimaging Analysis Centre, to develop automated imaging analysis and AI tools that can extract new insights from the data.
BRAIN-SCAN works for consumers, communities and patients
Dr Mason said the centre works closely with consumers, researchers, clinicians and the broader brain cancer community to ensure BRAIN-SCAN meets the needs of the people who will use it.
Clinicians and researchers are involved in developing the platform, while the centre’s consumer group leads research into community attitudes and perceptions about sharing personal health data, informing the development of governance and data access pathways.
“I think making sure first and foremost that consumers and the community are behind this, that it reflects what matters to them and that they feel safe is certainly our most important step,” said Dr Mason. “It is critical that we are building infrastructure that serves the brain cancer patients and wider community.”
Pete Radic, a brain cancer patient who chairs the Consumer Reference Group for the Brain Cancer Data Initiative (BCDI), said the dedication of brain cancer researchers and scientists who collaborate to develop new platforms brings hope to his fellow patients and himself.
“I understand that science does not progress without collaboration, technology, and innovation,” Mr Radic said.
BRAIN-SCAN collects and shares data
Currently in its prototype phase, BRAIN-SCAN (‘cloud-Based Repository of Advanced Imaging in Neuro-oncology for Study and Collaboration across Networks’) stores advanced neuroimaging data for specific brain cancer research projects. This keeps imaging data separate from other patient data while allowing it to be accurately linked when needed.
BRAIN-SCAN currently works with four foundational sites that securely contribute de-identified imaging data to a centralised XNAT repository. Researchers can then access and analyse the data through the repository, enabling multi-site research and the development of advanced imaging analysis and AI tools.
Central data platforms support national research and collaboration
Through BrainPOP, the centre brings together the people, expertise and resources needed to run clinical trials, generating valuable data across the complete patient journey and providing a more comprehensive picture of brain cancer than previously possible.
The centre is building on this foundation by developing a digital infrastructure ecosystem that makes data more accessible and widely used, while enabling researchers and programs across Australia to contribute to a national resource.
BRAIN-SCAN provides dedicated infrastructure for collecting, storing and analysing brain cancer imaging, while the BCDI is developing infrastructure to connect and use broader brain cancer data.
The centre is working towards linking BRAIN-SCAN and BCDI so that this information can be brought together to generate clinically meaningful reports. Initially, these reports will provide clinicians with a more complete view of a patient’s disease and treatment history, keeping clinicians firmly in control of clinical judgement.
“By connecting all of the data and all of the cohorts across Australia to build a national data asset for brain cancer, we want to support care nationally, because these reports aren’t meant to be changing practice; what they’re meant to be doing is supporting point-of-care decision-making,” said Dr Mason.
The way forward for BRAIN-SCAN
The centre is now testing BRAIN-SCAN across multiple sites to ensure brain scans can be securely collected and analysed in one place. The next phase will expand participation and develop new tools to help researchers make better use of the imaging data.
This will pave the way for BRAIN-SCAN to become a national resource for brain cancer imaging, supporting research and clinical trials across Australia.
BRAIN-SCAN was initiated through Brain Perioperative clinical trial Program (BrainPOP), a collaborative program led by The Brain Cancer Centre that brings together expertise across the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct including Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, The Royal Children’s Hospital, the University of Melbourne, the Royal Melbourne Hospital and WEHI.