Data Migration from the Legacy Familial Cancer Registry (FCR) Database to the New REDCap Database System

Mustafa Albahrani (Mentor: Erin Carney, Nontherapeutic Subject Registry, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University)

August 30th, 2016, 2:00pm, Room 1300, Harris Building

The Non-therapeutic Subject Registry (NTSR) is one of the shared resources at Georgetown Medical Center (GUMC) that uses various systems to capture, manage, and report nontherapeutic clinical trials data, for investigators in the Lombardi Cancer Center (ICBI) as well as other investigators at Georgetown. The NTSR also encompasses the Familial Cancer Registry (FCR), which is a comprehensive resource of individuals at high genetic risk for developing cancer [1]. The data of the participants enrolled in the FCR are stored in obsolete databases and in need to be integrated with the current NTSR registry in the REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) database.

Objective: Here we present the workflow and tools used to facilitate the migration of the FCR data to the REDCap database that will enhance the utilization of the FCR data for the NTSR and its collaborators; and (2) ensure the consistency of the data being collected.

Materials and Methods: The FCR legacy data that have accumulated in Microsoft Access backed by Microsoft SQL database since the late 1990s or early 2000s consist of a wide range of information including the participant’s medical history, the family medical history, detailed demographic information, the results of cancer tests, and other clinical procedures.  The FCR tables containing the participants’ demographic data, clinical diagnostic data, and genetic testing data were extracted and transformed to REDCap-compatible format using Python programs. 

Results: A subset of the FCR participants data (including: demographic, clinical diagnostic, and genetic testing data), for more than 60,000 participants, was extracted, scrubbed, and made ready to be migrated into the new NTSR database captured in the REDCap system.

Conclusions: The advancement of computerized and user-friendly systems (such as REDCap) supports the NTSR recruitment services for the non-therapeutic clinical trials. The workflow and tools we described will allow the integration of the legacy FCR data with the current NTSR data captured in REDCap to maximize the use of the data for the NTSR purposes.

[1] Graves, K. D., Moss, L. M., Jasper, C. L., DeMarco, T. A., Peshkin, B. N., Isaacs, C., & Schwartz, M. D. (2007). Predictors of enrollment into a familial cancer registry by individuals at high risk for BRCA1/2. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, 16(12), 2763-2767.