Revolutionizing Colorectal Cancer Management: Comprehensive Disease Profile and Knowledge Model

thumbnail_Firefly virtual lake containing medical data and network connection; interface diagram

By webmaster News July 16, 2024

In the pursuit of advancing healthcare and improving patients’ lives, ServTech has taken a significant step forward by developing a comprehensive disease profile for colorectal cancer (CRC). This innovative profile is called a knowledge model (i.e. a structured representation of information and relationships within a specific domain) designed to facilitate understanding, reasoning, and decision-making around CRC. It includes different types of data and rules, and defines the entities, concepts, and relationships within the domain. It provides a common vocabulary and a framework for organizing information. The knowledge model allows us to effectively homogenize and organize disparate retrospective data originating from different European hospitals collaborating in this project.

A Multifaceted Approach to Understanding CRC

The CRC disease profile by ServTech has been subdivided into various categories that encompass:

Patient Demographics: Understanding the age, gender, and other demographic factors of patients.
Genetic and Hereditary CRC Syndromes: Identifying inherited conditions that may contribute to CRC.
Lifestyle and Behavioural Data: Examining lifestyle choices and behaviours that impact CRC risk.
Environmental Data: Considering external factors that might influence disease development.
Well-Being Data: Assessing overall patient wellness and quality of life.
Clinical Data: Detailed clinical information essential for treatment.
Laboratory Data: Crucial lab results that aid in diagnosis and monitoring.

This multifaceted approach ensures that every aspect of the disease is covered, providing a robust foundation for healthcare professionals to build upon.

ONCOSCREEN Data Lake

The actual knowledge about colorectal cancer (CRC) is made available in the ONCOSCREEN Data Lake. The data lake acts as a central hub, handling user queries and responses regarding CRC risk estimation. The data lake also promotes collaboration among healthcare professionals, patients, and data scientists, fostering a shared knowledge base. Through this collaborative approach, the CRC knowledge model can be continuously refined and improved, leading to a better understanding and better outcomes for patients. The data lake is virtual entity because it doesn’t store information permanently. Instead, it dynamically brings together data from different hospitals in response to queries. This means that the data is not stored in one place but is accessed and combined on the fly. In this way, the data lake ensures that the most up-to-date and comprehensive information is readily available to respond to specific inquiries

A short video on our website shows the first prototype of the CRC data analysis in action.

Iterative Development and Continuous Improvement

The development of the CRC knowledge model at ServTech, and the subsequent types and features that can be identified, is characterized by a iterative knowledge-engineering methodology. This approach involves continuous evaluation and refinement through practical applications and ongoing discussions with medical partners. Here’s how the process unfolds:

Defining the Scope: The journey begins by listing the competency requests the model should address.
Initial Queries: Starting with key questions such as:

- How is colorectal cancer diagnosed?
- What are the treatment options for colorectal cancer?
- What is the prognosis for patients with colorectal cancer?

Continuous Improvement: These queries and the model’s capabilities are continually improved and expanded in future iterations.

This method ensures that the CRC ontology remains relevant, accurate, and highly effective in real-world applications.

Collaboration and Feedback

One of the standout features of ServTech’s approach is its collaborative nature. Feedback from medical and technical partners plays a crucial role in refining and enhancing the CRC disease profile and knowledge model. This partnership ensures that the model is not only theoretically sound but also practically applicable, addressing the real needs and challenges faced by healthcare professionals.

Transforming Colorectal Cancer Management

ServTech’s comprehensive disease profile and knowledge model for colorectal cancer represents a significant advancement in the field of oncology. By providing a detailed, interconnected, and continuously evolving resource, ServTech is paving the way for more accurate diagnoses, personalized treatments, and improved patient outcomes. Through the homogenization of data and the establishment of the ONCOSCREEN Data Lake, the model offers a powerful tool for healthcare professionals to unlock valuable insights and make informed decisions. As we continue to harness the potential of data-driven solutions, we move closer to a future where early detection and prevention of colorectal cancer become more effective and accessible to all.

To stay up to date with ServTech’s developments, as well as the many others that are part of ONCOSCREEN, be sure to follow our LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) accounts.