HEAD (AND NECK) IN THE CLOUDS: RE-IMAGINING ROYAL COLLEGE CANCER DATA SETS IN A “WORDCLOUD” FORMAT

Background Royal College cancer data sets ideally should present the pathologist not only with lists of core data items for histopathologic reporting of cancers but also communicate the strengths and limitations of the evidence behind those core items. Within the confines of a text- or proforma-based representation, there is little scope for interaction with or encouragement of scrutiny of the evidence base by the pathologist. Objective Wordclouds can be used to represent textual data in a visual format, highlighting frequency and defined categories of items. We wanted to explore whether the core data items in cancer data sets could be recreated in a more visual and interactive format using a “wordcloud” approach. Methods Using the 2013 data set for histopathology reporting of mucosal malignancies of the pharynx as a test case, we extracted the evidence base cited within the document for a subset of the core data items and updated the evidence by systematic review of the literature from year of publication to present. Results We created an HTML-based wordcloud “within” a head and neck sagittal section shape outline that represents (1) each core data item, (2) the strength of evidence (text size), (3) whether that evidence is direct or inferred (text color), and (4) hyperlinks from each core data item to text-based information for that item and relevant publications from the evidence base. Conclusions We believe the dataset wordcloud might enable easier navigation and clarity of the core data items and better understanding and scrutiny of the evidence base behind them. Royal College cancer data sets ideally should present the pathologist not only with lists of core data items for histopathologic reporting of cancers but also communicate the strengths and limitations of the evidence behind those core items. Within the confines of a text- or proforma-based representation, there is little scope for interaction with or encouragement of scrutiny of the evidence base by the pathologist. Wordclouds can be used to represent textual data in a visual format, highlighting frequency and defined categories of items. We wanted to explore whether the core data items in cancer data sets could be recreated in a more visual and interactive format using a “wordcloud” approach. Using the 2013 data set for histopathology reporting of mucosal malignancies of the pharynx as a test case, we extracted the evidence base cited within the document for a subset of the core data items and updated the evidence by systematic review of the literature from year of publication to present. We created an HTML-based wordcloud “within” a head and neck sagittal section shape outline that represents (1) each core data item, (2) the strength of evidence (text size), (3) whether that evidence is direct or inferred (text color), and (4) hyperlinks from each core data item to text-based information for that item and relevant publications from the evidence base. We believe the dataset wordcloud might enable easier navigation and clarity of the core data items and better understanding and scrutiny of the evidence base behind them.