This presentation will describe how current approaches to clinical research and knowledge dissemination can impair the quality of clinical decision making in oncology, and how advanced analytic methods and IT could improve them. The “enemies of change” which slow the adoption of newer approaches will be discussed, and contrasted with examples where machine learning is contributing to rapid progress in cancer treatment.
Bio:
David Hodgson MD, MPH, FRCPC, is a Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology, and the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto. He is the Medical Director of the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO), and holds the POGO Chair in Childhood Cancer Control. In addition to practicing radiation oncology in the lymphoma and pediatric site groups at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Dr. Hodgson is radiation oncology lead of the Hodgkin Lymphoma Committee of the Children’s Oncology Group. His research is primarily focused on improving the treatment of pediatric and young adult patients, specifically by better understanding the long-term late effects of treatment and how they relate to optimally managing contemporary patients.