Abstract 1062: Cancer Complexity Knowledge Portal: a centralized web portal for finding cancer related data, software tools, and other resources
Authors: Orion Banks, Ashley Clayton, Aditi Gopalan, Amber Nelson, Stockard Simon, Verena Chung, Amy Heiser, Jay Hodgson, Aditya Nath, Adam Hindman, Milen Nikolov, Adam Taylor, James Eddy, Susheel Varma, Jineta Banerjee
Journal: Cancer Research (2025)

Abstract Applying artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) techniques to biomedical problems is predicated on access to clean, high-quality data and reusable software tools. Data and tool repositories offer a vital infrastructure for centralizing, storing, and sharing such resources with the global research community of cross-disciplinary scientists. The Cancer Complexity Knowledge Portal (CCKP) is a NIH-listed domain-specific repository that makes oncology data findable and accessible. The CCKP is developed and maintained by the Multi-Consortia Coordinating (MC2) Center, led by Sage Bionetworks. The MC2 Center supports resource coordination among six cancer-focused interdisciplinary research consortia funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Through this work, the CCKP has emerged as a significant repository for oncology data and tool sharing. To define the metadata standards for sharing resources on the CCKP, we host data models for various data modalities including genomics and imaging, and are developing new models for emerging multimodal data types like spatial transcriptomics. The data models undergo iterative development based on emerging community needs, with versioned releases maintained in a public GitHub repository. These data models power established data management tools developed by Sage Bionetworks, including the Schematic Python package and Data Curator App, to support annotation of data according to FAIR standards. The data models are designed to help researchers link research outputs (e.g., publications, datasets), thus helping the CCKP synthesize and highlight the activities and outputs of the NCI-funded cancer research programs in a meaningful way. The CCKP provides search and filtering capability to accelerate discovery and collaboration in the cancer research community. As of November 2024, the portal hosts curated information on 3, 786 publications, 904 datasets, and 292 computational tools emerging from over 140 research grants. Our data models also incorporate elements of the Cancer Research Data Commons (CRDC) Data Hub data model to support integration and reuse of datasets within the CRDC ecosystem. The recent advances in computational oncology showcase the strength of secondary use of research data and highlight an unmet need to ensure that data and tools available through repositories are reliable, and reusable. We are engaging with scientists, clinicians, and patient advocates, and leveraging user-centered design approaches and structured data models to make cancer data and tools more findable, accessible, and reusable. These ongoing improvements of the portal aim to increase its usability, bringing experimental labs generating data and computational labs using data closer together, to fuel the iterative cycle of scientific discovery. Citation Format: Orion Banks, Ashley Clayton, Aditi Gopalan, Amber Nelson, Stockard Simon, Verena Chung, Amy Heiser, Jay Hodgson, Aditya Nath, Adam Hindman, Milen Nikolov, Adam Taylor, James Eddy, Susheel Varma, Jineta Banerjee. Cancer Complexity Knowledge Portal: a centralized web portal for finding cancer related data, software tools, and other resources [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2025 Apr 25-30; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(8_Suppl_1):Abstract nr 1062.