BD4BO PIONEER

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer in men, accounting for 9% of all cancer deaths among men in Europe. The socio-economic burden associated with it is predicted to dramatically increase in the coming years due to aging. Currently, it is hard to predict which patients will respond best to different treatments, and which patients can be managed safely without undergoing treatment.

PIONEER is one of the BD4BO disease-specific projects and serves as the European Network of Excellence for Big Data in Prostate Cancer. The project is using big data to address key knowledge gaps related to screening, diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer by standardising and integrating already existing big data in clinical trials and electronic health records from diverse populations of prostate cancer patients across different stages of the disease into a single, innovative data platform. PIONEER is working for meaningful improvement in clinical practice, improved health outcomes and increased health-system efficiency by providing evidence-based data, so patients can benefit from the best possible care.

ECPC is contributing to the overall project by providing a voice to prostate cancer patients through offering expert patient input and advice during the entire life cycle of the project. The participation of ECPC ensures that the patients engage in their disease management, thus leading to better treatment adherence and improved Quality of Life (QoL). This includes and is not limited to reviewing informed consent forms, surveys, study protocols and guidelines, setting up patient focus groups, drafting patient information leaflets and brochures, and the successful communication and dissemination of the project’s deliverables. ECPC is also working to ensure that the visual identity of PIONEER is aligned with the branding of the DO-IT communication and support action for all BD4BO projects supported by the IMI.