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PDQ® - NCI's Comprehensive Cancer Database
PDQ Cancer Information Summaries
PDQ Editorial Boards
NCI Dictionaries
PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry
PDQ Cancer Genetics Services Directory
PDQ (Physician Data Query) is NCI's comprehensive cancer database. It contains summaries on a wide range of cancer topics; a registry of 8000+ open and 19,000+ closed cancer clinical trials from around the world; and a directory of professionals who provide genetics services. PDQ also contains the NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms, with definitions for 6000+ cancer and medical terms, and the NCI Drug Dictionary, which has information on 1200+ agents used in the treatment of cancer or cancer-related conditions.
The PDQ cancer information summaries are peer-reviewed, evidence-based summaries on topics including adult and pediatric cancer treatment, supportive and palliative care, screening, prevention, genetics, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most of the summaries are available in two different formats:
- Health Professional versions provide detailed information written in technical language and are fully referenced with links to PubMed abstracts.
- Patient versions are written in lay language and include links to the NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms 4. Many patient summaries also include illustrations.
Both versions of the summaries are available to health professionals, patients, and the general public as a service of the NCI. Some of the summaries are also available in Spanish 5.
Adult treatment summaries 6
The adult treatment summaries provide prognostic and treatment information on the major types of cancer in adults. Summaries are available for over 70 types of cancer, including a number of brief summaries on less common cancers. Health professional versions of the summaries provide detailed information on prognosis, staging, and treatment for each disease; refer to key citations in the literature; and link to abstracts for the citations. All of the PDQ adult treatment summaries are available in patient versions and in Spanish 7.
Pediatric treatment summaries 8
The pediatric treatment summaries contain prognostic and treatment information on the major types of cancer in children, as well as information on unusual childhood cancers. Health professional versions of the summaries provide detailed information on prognosis, staging, and treatment for each disease; refer to key citations in the literature; and link to abstracts for the citations. All of the PDQ pediatric treatment summaries are available in patient versions and in Spanish 9.
Supportive and palliative care summaries 10
PDQ's supportive and palliative care summaries provide descriptions of the pathophysiology and treatment of common physical and psychosocial complications of cancer and its treatment, such as pain, hypercalcemia, and nausea/vomiting. Each health professional version generally contains an overview, information on etiology, assessment and management, and references to the current literature. All of the PDQ supportive and palliative care summaries are available in patient versions and in Spanish 11.
Screening/detection summaries 12
Summaries on screening/detection for many of the common cancers such as lung, colorectal, breast, and prostate, as well as other cancers, are available. The health professional-oriented summaries contain current data concerning screening/detection for particular disease sites, the levels of evidence for those statements, and the significance and evidence of benefit for the statements, which include supporting references to current literature. All of the PDQ screening/detection summaries are available in patient versions.
Prevention summaries 13
Summaries on prevention for many of the common cancers such as lung, colorectal, breast, and prostate, as well as other cancers, are available. Health professional versions of the summaries contain current data concerning prevention for particular disease sites, the levels of evidence for those statements, and the significance and evidence of benefit for the statements. Supporting references to current literature are included. All of the PDQ prevention summaries are available in patient versions.
Genetics summaries 14
PDQ genetics summaries provide evidence-based information about the genetic basis of certain cancers. Information is given about risk factors related to family history, major genes and syndromes associated with the disease, interventions specific to individuals at high risk, and the ethical, legal, and social issues related to cancer risk counseling and gene testing. An overview of cancer genetics and summaries on the genetics of breast and ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer, medullary thyroid cancer, prostate cancer, and skin cancer are currently available. A summary covering the elements of cancer risk assessment and counseling is also available.
Complementary and alternative medicine summaries 15
The health professional versions of the summaries contain background information about the treatments; a brief history of their development; information about their proposed mechanism(s) of action; and information about relevant laboratory, animal, and clinical studies. Most of the summaries also are available in a patient version that is written in a question-and-answer format. All complementary and alternative medicine summaries include glossary links to definitions of scientific terms.
The PDQ cancer information summaries are produced, maintained, and updated regularly by six editorial boards comprised of oncology specialists in fields including medical, surgical, and radiation oncology; epidemiology; psychology; genetics; and complementary and alternative medicine. Each Board reviews published research findings on a monthly basis and meets several times a year to review and discuss updates to their summaries. The Boards are not formal advisory or policy-making boards for the NCI.
Each Board is supported by a corresponding Editorial Advisory Board comprised of cancer experts who review the content of the summaries every one to two years and make recommendations to the core Editorial Board.
PDQ® Adult Treatment Editorial Board 16
Experts in the fields of medical oncology, radiation oncology, and surgical oncology.
PDQ® Pediatric Treatment Editorial Board 17
Experts in the fields of pediatric oncology, pediatric surgery, pediatric neuro-oncology, and radiation oncology.
PDQ® Supportive and Palliative Care Editorial Board 18
Experts in the fields of pain and palliative care, psychology, medical oncology, and pediatric oncology.
PDQ® Screening and Prevention Editorial Board 19
Experts in the fields of oncology, cancer prevention, hematology, radiology, urology, statistics, epidemiology, and economics.
PDQ® Cancer Genetics Editorial Board 20
Experts in the fields of genetics, clinical oncology, epidemiology, psychology, and the social sciences.
PDQ® Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine Editorial Board 21
Experts in the fields of oncology, pharmacology, natural products, drug discovery and development, traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and homeopathy.
Dictionary of Cancer Terms 4
A dictionary of more than 6,000 cancer-related terms. This resource is updated monthly; new terms are reviewed by a multidisciplinary panel of reviewers, and approximately 30 terms are added each month.
NCI Drug Dictionary 22
A dictionary that contains technical definitions, alternate names, and links to related information for more than 1,200 agents that are being used in the treatment of patients with cancer or cancer-related conditions.
PDQ includes the world's most comprehensive cancer clinical trials registry. The registry contains 8000+ abstracts of clinical trial protocols that are open/active and approved for patient accrual (accepting patients), including trials for cancer treatment, genetics, diagnosis, supportive care, screening, and prevention. In addition, the registry contains 19,000+ abstracts of clinical trial protocols that have been completed or are closed to patient accrual.
PDQ includes most clinical trials sponsored by NCI. It also contains many clinical trials sponsored by pharmaceutical companies, medical centers, and other groups from around the world. It includes all cancer clinical trials that are registered under requirements specified by Public Law 110-85 23, Title VIII (Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act, 2007) and requirements set forth by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE 24).
To help ensure the comprehensiveness of the registry, PDQ and NIH's ClinicalTrials.gov 25 database regularly exchange clinical trial information. Cancer trials registered in PDQ will automatically be registered in ClinicalTrials.gov and vice versa.
Protocol abstracts in PDQ are written in two formats, the health professional abstract (uses technical terminology) and the patient abstract (uses non-technical language). However, some trials (obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov 25) contain the same text in both the patient and health professional abstracts.
Searching for clinical trials
NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry can be searched using a search form 1 that allows users to select a type of cancer, stage/subtype, type of trial, location of trial, type of treatment/intervention, drug name, phase of trial, or a combination of these and other criteria. Help links provided on the search form and search results pages lead to tips about how to construct a search, display results, and print trials of interest.
Registering clinical trials with PDQ
Submission instructions 26 and a portal for online submission 27 of protocols to PDQ are available on NCI's Web site.
Additional information about clinical trials
For more information and news about clinical trials, please visit the Clinical Trials area 28 of NCI's Web site.
PDQ's Cancer Genetics Services Directory 3 is a directory of about 500 individuals who provide services related to cancer genetics (cancer risk assessment, genetic counseling, genetic susceptibility testing, and others). |
