Using A Standardized Nomenclature to Semantically Map Oncology-Related Concepts from Common Data Models to a Pediatric Cancer Data Model.

Abstract

The Pediatric Cancer Data Commons (PCDC) comprises an international community whose ironclad commitment to data sharing is combatting pediatric cancer in an unprecedented way. The byproduct of their data sharing efforts is a gold-standard consensus data model covering many types of pediatric cancer. This article describes an effort to utilize SSSOM, an emerging specification for semantically-rich data mappings, to provide a "hub and spoke" model of mappings from several common data models (CDMs) to the PCDC data model. This provides important contributions to the research community, including: 1) a clear view of the current coverage of these CDMs in the domain of pediatric oncology, and 2) a demonstration of creating standardized mappings. These mappings can allow downstream crosswalk for data transformation and enhance data sharing. This can guide those who currently create and maintain brittle ad hoc data mappings in order to utilize the growing volume of viable research data.