NHS Digital shares cancer data to boost research

Cancer data from NHS Digital has now been made available in a secure environment to enable researchers to understand the impact of coronavirus on people affected by cancer.

DATA-CAN, the UK’s Health Data Research Hub for Cancer, has worked with NHS Digital to provide timely and secure access to cancer specific data, curated by NHS Digital’s National Disease Registration Service, alongside national population health datasets in the NHS Digital Trusted Research Environment (TRE).

TREs are secure spaces where authorised researchers can access the data they need for approved projects. The de-identified data is analysed in a secure environment without being downloaded, to provide safe and secure data for analysis and research. NHS Digital's TRE is supported by the recent announcement by the government of up to £200 million to enable more secure and efficient access to NHS data through TREs and digital clinical trial services.

This partnership will provide researchers with timely data access to improve our understanding of the current impact of Covid-19 on the referral, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of patients with cancer, and those who may become unwell in the future.

Michael Chapman, NHS Digital Director of Research and Clinical Trials, said: “Safe access to data is absolutely vital in helping medical researchers explore the impact of Covid-19 on cancer services and outcomes, and more widely to understand the causes of cancer and how best to diagnose, prevent and treat it. NHS Digital is committed to making data accessible to researchers in a safe and trusted environment that safeguards patient data at the same time as allowing for world-class research.”