Distributed decision support for cancer research associated to Infectious Disease

The use of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) and other supportive treatments for Human immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are changing research on malignancies associated with HIV-infected patients, both for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)-defining malignancies (ADM) as well as nonAIDS-defining malignancies (nADM). At the same time, studies linking HIV/AIDS registries to cancer registries have shown potential for exploring new approaches to prevention and treatment of opportunistic disease. We take an innovative approach to semantic modeling using data curation and interactive representation of the semantically aggregated information, using biostatistical analysis and annotation tools as well as geographic information systems technology. Our hypothesis is that, by investigating the application of innovative translational informatics methods and creating prototypes of collaborative knowledge bases, we can facilitate novel clinical research related to the identification of patterns in current and new data, linking the integrated information and outcomes to available registries.