Oncology Informatics: Status Quo and Outlook

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Biomedical Informatics
• Information Technology

Background:

• Oncology is rapidly advancing with new developments in cancer stem cells, targeted therapies, genomic analyses, and immunotherapy.
• These advancements have expanded cancer treatment options and garnered public attention.
• Progress in oncology is largely dependent on rapid developments in biomedical informatics and information technology (IT).

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the critical role of biomedical informatics and IT in the recent progress of oncology.
• To underscore the importance of emerging IT applications in cancer research and treatment.
• To emphasize the need for a multidisciplinary approach to leverage IT in oncology.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent advancements in oncology.
• Identification of key information technology (IT) developments impacting cancer care.
• Analysis of the role of IT applications such as artificial intelligence, radiomics, electronic health records, and electronic patient-reported outcome measures (ePROMS).

Main Results:

• Significant progress in oncology is attributed to advancements in biomedical informatics and IT.
• IT tools like artificial intelligence, radiomics, and electronic health records are enabling new approaches in cancer treatment.
• Electronic patient-reported outcome measures (ePROMS) are emerging as valuable tools in oncology.

Conclusions:

• Information technology (IT) is a key enabler of modern oncology advancements.
• The integration of IT, including AI and big data analytics, is transforming cancer research and patient care.
• A multidisciplinary strategy is essential to overcome challenges and fully realize the impact of IT in oncology.