Enhancing Catchment Area Tools: A De-Identification Method for Integrating Clinical Trial Data with Cancer InFocus

Area of Science:

• Cancer research
• Public health surveillance
• Health informatics

Background:

• National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers monitor cancer burden in catchment areas.
• Data visualization tools like Cancer InFocus aid research and outreach.
• Clinical trial accrual data can improve catchment area understanding but requires de-identification per Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce a HIPAA-compliant de-identification method using geographic aggregation.
• Enable comprehensive catchment area surveillance by integrating clinical trial data.
• Enhance understanding of cancer burden and disparities within NCI-designated cancer center catchment areas.

Main Methods:

• Geocode patient home addresses from clinical trials to census tracts.
• Merge census tracts with fewer than 20 patient accruals using geographic aggregation.
• Conduct risk assessment for re-identification and calculate accrual rates for integration into Cancer InFocus.

Main Results:

• Geographic aggregation successfully merged tracts, maintaining low re-identification risk.
• The method exceeded the 20-patient threshold for all merged tracts.
• Identified disparities between clinical trial accruals and social determinants of health.

Conclusions:

• Geographic aggregation is a HIPAA-compliant method for de-identifying clinical trial data.
• This approach enhances catchment area surveillance and supports targeted cancer research and outreach.
• The integrated data reveals area-specific needs and health disparities.