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The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer
Where on the web The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer http://www.eortc.be The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) exists to facilitate and coordinate laboratory and clinical cancer research. Based in Brussels, over the past 40 years its organisational talents have helped to set up and direct hundreds of oncology studies throughout Europe and the rest of the world. It has close links with the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) and also with cancer research organisations in Britain – it was affiliated to the UK Cancer Research Campaign, but this charity has now merged with the Imperial Cancer Research Fund to form a new research organisation. The EORTC is a hugely important administrative resource and this website is a very attractive option for getting quick and easy access to a lot of essential information. Seekers of up-to-date clinical or biological data, who are expecting something reminiscent of the NCI’s website (www.nci.nih.gov) will be disappointed by the EORTC site.
Other than multilingual versions of a patient booklet entitled ‘What clinical trials are all about’, there is little in the way of factual exposition. This is definitely a site for experienced cancer research teams, who know what they are looking for. The text is rather dense and, apart from a very nice snapshot of the EORTC Head Office and its staff, the visual impact of the site is pretty low. On the plus side, however, there are useful lists of trial titles that can be sorted by tumour site, organising group, and date of opening/closing, along with contact details for the principal investigators. Similarly, there are lists of upcoming EORTC courses and conferences to browse through, although only in single sentence detail. Several organogrammes show the organisational interplay between the various EORTC committees. Lengthy descriptions of the specific remit of each committee (for those not put off by the organogrammes) are also available.
For those who wish to participate in existing cancer clinical trials, or to start a new one, this site will guide experienced researchers and data managers through the steps involved. For centres that are already involved in studies, there are also several useful features. For example, randomisations can be done online, and there is a question and answer section, dealing with problems that arise through responses evaluated using the RECIST guidelines. Overall, this website is oddly reminiscent of an office block in the European Parliament – it has plenty of interesting information tucked away within its complex site structure, but while some of it clearly signposted, other links lead to dead ends. Its saving grace, however, is that just when you start to get frustrated at not being able to locate the information you need, there always seems to be a helpful hint to get you back on track. Ross Camidge
Nature Reviews Cancer online http://www.nature.com/reviews/cancer Few oncologists can be unaware that Nature Reviews Cancer has now been launched. If you have not had a chance to see the journal itself, the website is certainly worth a visit. Busy and colourful, the home page contains numerous links to all sorts of destinations, in addition to the contents of the current journal. One of the most useful links is Nature Cancer Update, which takes you to a one-stop resource covering the latest cancer news. The page is conveniently split into four sections, covering highlights of the latest research, current news, review articles available for download, and stories relating to current science policy, regulation, and funding. Besides the obvious links to information for authors and subscribers, staff contact details, etc, the homepage also includes a Job Search link, which takes you straight to the THE LANCET Oncology Vol 3 January 2002
main Nature job site – always a favourite port of call for job seekers in the scientific and medical research community. The reviews tend more towards the cell and molecular, rather than the clinical, end of the oncology spectrum, as one might perhaps expect in a journal from the Nature stable. A nice feature here is a row of little icons beside each review title, giving the reader access to article highlights, pdfs, useful links, and even a slide-show of all the illustrations. There is also an option similar to Adobe Acrobat, that allows navigation around the various sections of the article. My favourite feature mirrors a
useful innovation in the paper version of the journal, where specialised terms are accompanied by a brief definition, in the page margin. In the electronic version, the words are linked to small pop-up boxes containing the necessary explanation. My only criticism is that, as you navigate around the site, your journey is interrupted by the appearance of advertising windows, which block your view of the screen and try to tempt you with special offers connected with other Nature journals and products. That quibble apart, this site should prove to be a popular resource for the research community. Sue Silver
63
For personal use. Only reproduce with permission from The Lancet Publishing Group.
Other than multilingual versions of a patient booklet entitled ‘What clinical trials are all about’, there is little in the way of factual exposition. This is definitely a site for experienced cancer research teams, who know what they are looking for. The text is rather dense and, apart from a very nice snapshot of the EORTC Head Office and its staff, the visual impact of the site is pretty low. On the plus side, however, there are useful lists of trial titles that can be sorted by tumour site, organising group, and date of opening/closing, along with contact details for the principal investigators. Similarly, there are lists of upcoming EORTC courses and conferences to browse through, although only in single sentence detail. Several organogrammes show the organisational interplay between the various EORTC committees. Lengthy descriptions of the specific remit of each committee (for those not put off by the organogrammes) are also available.
For those who wish to participate in existing cancer clinical trials, or to start a new one, this site will guide experienced researchers and data managers through the steps involved. For centres that are already involved in studies, there are also several useful features. For example, randomisations can be done online, and there is a question and answer section, dealing with problems that arise through responses evaluated using the RECIST guidelines. Overall, this website is oddly reminiscent of an office block in the European Parliament – it has plenty of interesting information tucked away within its complex site structure, but while some of it clearly signposted, other links lead to dead ends. Its saving grace, however, is that just when you start to get frustrated at not being able to locate the information you need, there always seems to be a helpful hint to get you back on track. Ross Camidge
Nature Reviews Cancer online http://www.nature.com/reviews/cancer Few oncologists can be unaware that Nature Reviews Cancer has now been launched. If you have not had a chance to see the journal itself, the website is certainly worth a visit. Busy and colourful, the home page contains numerous links to all sorts of destinations, in addition to the contents of the current journal. One of the most useful links is Nature Cancer Update, which takes you to a one-stop resource covering the latest cancer news. The page is conveniently split into four sections, covering highlights of the latest research, current news, review articles available for download, and stories relating to current science policy, regulation, and funding. Besides the obvious links to information for authors and subscribers, staff contact details, etc, the homepage also includes a Job Search link, which takes you straight to the THE LANCET Oncology Vol 3 January 2002
main Nature job site – always a favourite port of call for job seekers in the scientific and medical research community. The reviews tend more towards the cell and molecular, rather than the clinical, end of the oncology spectrum, as one might perhaps expect in a journal from the Nature stable. A nice feature here is a row of little icons beside each review title, giving the reader access to article highlights, pdfs, useful links, and even a slide-show of all the illustrations. There is also an option similar to Adobe Acrobat, that allows navigation around the various sections of the article. My favourite feature mirrors a
useful innovation in the paper version of the journal, where specialised terms are accompanied by a brief definition, in the page margin. In the electronic version, the words are linked to small pop-up boxes containing the necessary explanation. My only criticism is that, as you navigate around the site, your journey is interrupted by the appearance of advertising windows, which block your view of the screen and try to tempt you with special offers connected with other Nature journals and products. That quibble apart, this site should prove to be a popular resource for the research community. Sue Silver
63
For personal use. Only reproduce with permission from The Lancet Publishing Group.