Rapid Case Identification
Director: Hans-Olov Adami, MD, PhD
Location: Harvard School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology, Kresge 920 677 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02115
| Core Summary: |
The Rapid Case Identification Core (RCIC) is designed to support and facilitate epidemiologic and clinical research conducted by DF/HCC investigators by providing rapid case identification and related services. The RCIC is a service-based core that is designed to identify study eligible cases shortly after diagnosis, ascertain relevant study data via medical record review, assist with IRB approval, provide potential case numbers for grant planning purposes, retrieve pathology specimens and identify population controls. The RCIC greatly enhances the capability of DF/HCC members to undertake translational, population and clinical research by providing experienced staff to perform common research tasks. Utilization of the core has the potential to shorten the data collection phase of a study by eliminating the need for individual investigators to recruit hire and train research assistants to perform this task. It provides a substantial economy of scale to investigators and facilitates the incorporation of pathology specimens as part of translational research.
| Categories and Institutions: |
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| Personnel/Contact Information: |
Director: Hans-Olov Adami, MD, PhD
Phone: 617-432-6477
Email
Member: Carol Lowenstein, CTR, MBA
Role: Core Manager
Phone: 617-432-2199, Core Cell: 617-981-9946
Email
| Services: |
- Assistance with IRB approval
RCIC staff will provide assistance with the case ascertainment issues surrounding IRB approval for studies utilizing the core. The core will: * Assist with IRB approval at non-DF/HCC institutions including attendance at approval meetings if requested * Provide protocol language describing the core, staff, and issues surrounding access to protected health information * Maintain and provide proof of CITI and/or other human subjects training requirements for all core staff members
- Identification of patients
Through review of pathology reports, RCIC staff will identify study eligible patients at DF/HCC and other Eastern Massachusetts hospitals within two to four weeks of diagnosis that are eligible for: * Epidemiologic Studies * Social and Behavioral Research Studies * Clinical Trials
- Identification of population controls
RCIC staff will provide demographic information on potential population controls via the Town Book Library. This library: * Contains a comprehensive collection of Resident Lists for the cities and towns in Eastern Massachusetts. Each list provides resident name and address as well as date of birth and occupation for some cities and towns * Is continually updated each year for each city/town in Eastern Massachusetts * Contains the current plus five previous years of Town Books
- Medical record review
We will work closely with you to tailor our data collection efforts to meet the specific needs of your study in order to: * Obtain clinical data for epidemiologic, social and behavioral research studies, and clinical research * Provide annotated clinical data for tissue obtained via the Pathology Specimen Locator core or other means
- Pathology specimens
RCIC staff will coordinate and provide the retrieval of pathology specimens including the following tasks: * Locate initial diagnostic material at DF/HCC and outside institutions * Arrange for transportation and/or shipment of material to designated study staff * Provide for the return of material if required * Provide detailed tracking of specimens throughout the process
- Potential case numbers – preliminary data
With ready access to hospital and state cancer registry data, the RCIC will provide case numbers to assist researchers in determining adequate potential patient populations for grant planning and preparation. Specifically we can provide you with: * Hospital-specific data by cancer site, race, age, stage, and gender * Regional (county, city/town) data by cancer site, race, age, stage, and gender * State-wide data by cancer site, race, age, stage, and gender * Demographic/census profiles for each county and major city/town in Massachusetts
| Departmental Web Link: |
http://www.partners.org/researchcores/DFHCC/rapid_case_DFHCC.html