The iCAN Flagship Project is a globally unique pan-cancer biobank study. It combines cancer genetics, translational and clinical cancer research, biobanks, information technology and artificial intelligence in a completely novel way.

The project links deep molecular profiling of at least 15,000 fresh frozen tumors with patients’ longitudinal health data, including electronic health records, national registries and patient reported outcomes. The research hypothesis is that through this linkage, a new level of understanding of cancer in the context of the host will be achieved.

Using machine learning and AI to extract relevant predictive features from each dataset and level, the study is expected to increase knowledge of immuno-oncology, tumor microenvironment and development of disease resistance – and thereby result in discoveries of new targets and contribute to development of improved treatments.

In addition to accelerating discoveries, the aim is to extract new relevant predictive features, provide a platform for developing early-stage leads/diagnostics, and to enable adaptive clinical trials.

Multidisciplinary research teams advancing breakthrough discoveries

The study currently includes 15 subprojects, detailed below. Their multidisciplinary teams include clinicians, researchers, technicians, nurses, surgeons, pathologists, molecular biologists and data scientists. The number of Principal Investigators currently exceeds 70 and the number of total staff amounts to nearly 200.

The iCAN teams have a strong track record in translational and clinical cancer as well as data science, which has generated more than 33,000 citations and over 120 highly cited publications.

The subprojects study a wide range of cancer types: abdominal, colorectal, lung and thoracic, breast, ovarian, urologic, pediatric, and rare cancers, lymphomas, multiple myeloma, and acute myeloid leukemia. Each has a specific research focus, as well as responsibilities in sample collection and analysis, as described in the list below.