Abstract 302: Novel implementation of cloud computing and mobile technology to transform data collection and management in cancer epidemiology
Authors: Benbow Jennifer L. , Clarke Christina A. , Park Hannah L. , Duffy Christine N. , Chung Nadia T. , Brankin Amy E. , Angell-Mendez Karen , Ziogas Argyrios , Pinder Rich , Deapen Dennis , Anton-Culver Hoda , Neuhausen Susan L. , Bernstein Leslie , Wang Sophia S. , Lacey James V. 
Published: May 2015

Cancer epidemiology cohorts (CECs) make vital contributions to molecular epidemiology and translational research. Large, well-annotated CECs require many years and substantial resources to build, mature, and maintain, but many CECs use inefficient legacy methods to collect and manage data. CECs must become more cost-efficient and find better ways to gather, store, and share data, and declining response rates suggest CEC participants increasingly require more personal and engaging methods. The California Teachers Study (CTS) is a CEC that has followed 133,479 female public school professionals since 1995-1996. We implemented a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) solution from Salesforce.com for a 4-year project (2012-2016), funded by the NCI and NIEHS, that is collecting 21,722 blood or saliva samples from CTS participants for use in future biomarker discovery and validation research. Phlebotomists at 3 sites (COH, CPIC, & UCI) visit participants in-person, conduct interviews, collect blood, and ship samples overnight to Fisher BioServices in Maryland for processing and storage. Our cloud-based system uses the web, smartphones, and tablets to recruit participants; schedule appointments; aggregate questionnaire data; and automate specimen collection, shipping, and tracking. Phlebotomists use a custom-built mobile app to scan consent forms, blood tubes, and FedEx shipping labels. The app includes a smart e-questionnaire that is customized for each person based on her answers to previous CTS questionnaires. Each night, the system automatically assembles and transmits a detailed shipping manifest directly to Fisher BioServices. All data are available for immediate access via a secure, CTS-specific Salesforce.com instance, in which we can track multiple progress and performance metrics on demand. Extensive security and validations protect data privacy and confidentiality. By using mobile technology to automate the study protocol across all sites, eliminating manual data entry during collection appointments, and removing data silos, our innovative approach increases productivity, ensures protocol compliance across study sites, and reduces data management costs. The Salesforce.com system is easily scalable for additional types of data collection and is an excellent tool for improving CEC infrastructure.

Citation Format: Jennifer L. Benbow, Christina A. Clarke, Hannah L. Park, Christine N. Duffy, Nadia T. Chung, Amy E. Brankin, Karen Angell-Mendez, Argyrios Ziogas, Rich Pinder, Dennis Deapen, Hoda Anton-Culver, Susan L. Neuhausen, Leslie Bernstein, Sophia S. Wang, James V. Lacey. Novel implementation of cloud computing and mobile technology to transform data collection and management in cancer epidemiology. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 302. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-302