The National Cancer Research Institute has opened a free online cancer research portal, Onix, to the public.
Onix (oncology information exchange) enables scientists and clinicians to search and access international research data held online to improve the flow of cancer-research information between individuals, institutions and organisations.
It uses powerful search technology that reduces the time it currently takes for scientists and clinicians to find cancer-related data and information across the spectrum of research from genomics to clinical trials.
This reduces duplication of research effort across the globe and makes it easier for researchers to collaborate on similar studies.
It will speed up the development of new therapies and could potentially improve prognosis and diagnosis.
Scientists and clinicians can simultaneously search through multiple cancer-related databases and track the latest developments in the field: what research is being carried out by which researchers and where.
Most importantly, when users carry out a search on Onix, they receive the search results in a clear and usable format.
Onix will be further refined, driven by user feedback.
The NCRI will continue to develop the system by adding more content, including databases, information about cancer-related organisations and resources.
Improved functionality of Onix will enable researchers to do more with these resources and information.
An intelligent search feature is being developed to interpret the language used in search terms - called semantic searching.
This enables researchers to find specific cancer-related information while eliminating irrelevant search results.
The NCRI Informatics project is collaborating with a number of UK projects, including the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) and the NHS Connecting for Health Research Capability Programme (RCP).
The collaboration will allow researchers to access electronic summaries of the data held by these organisations in a secure way, and with appropriate authorisation, researchers will be able to access and retrieve protected data.
