title: Facilitating a culture of responsible and effective sharing of cancer genome data.
abstract: Rapid and affordable tumor molecular profiling has led to an explosion of clinical and genomic data poised to enhance the diagnosis, prognostication and treatment of cancer. A critical point has now been reached at which the analysis and storage of annotated clinical and genomic information in unconnected silos will stall the advancement of precision cancer care. Information systems must be harmonized to overcome the multiple technical and logistical barriers to data sharing. Against this backdrop, the Global Alliance for Genomic Health (GA4GH) was established in 2013 to create a common framework that enables responsible, voluntary and secure sharing of clinical and genomic data. This Perspective from the GA4GH Clinical Working Group Cancer Task Team highlights the data-aggregation challenges faced by the field, suggests potential collaborative solutions and describes how GA4GH can catalyze a harmonized data-sharing culture.
authors.affiliation: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Lillian L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Siu
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen's University, Belfast, UK.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lawler
authors.affiliation: UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Haussler
authors.affiliation: Centre of Genomics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: Bartha Maria
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Knoppers
authors.affiliation: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lewin
authors.affiliation: The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Vis
authors.affiliation: The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Rachel G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Gustave Roussy and Université Paris Sud, Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Andre
authors.affiliation: Patient's Advocacy Committee, European Cancer Organization, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Banks
authors.affiliation: Translational Sciences, Oncology iMED, AstraZeneca, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: J Carl
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caldas
authors.affiliation: Hospital Sírio-Libanês, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Anamaria Aranha
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Camargo
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Rebecca C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
authors.affiliation: Yonsei Cancer Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Mao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Kaiser Permanente, Pasadena, California, USA.
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Mattison
authors.affiliation: Roche Innovation Center Basel, Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pao
authors.affiliation: Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: William R
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2604-2498
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Sellers
authors.affiliation: Advocacy for Canadian Children Oncology Network, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.affiliation: National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Bin Tean
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Teh
authors.affiliation: University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia.
authors.forename: Robyn L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.affiliation: The Cancer Genome Atlas, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Jean Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: ZenKlusen
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Charles L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Sawyers
authors.affiliation: The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Emile E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Voest
mesh_terms: D019295:Computational Biology; D003469:Culture; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D016678:Genome; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*