A unique scientific information and education portal designed to help oncologists keep up to date with the latest research and clinical information in their field has been launched by the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in partnership with Thomson Reuters, the global information and news organization.
OncologyPRO - Oncology Professional Resources Online (http://OncologyPRO.esmo.org) offers ESMO members an unparalleled resource -- integrating regularly updated oncology news, clinical research, biomarker and drug databases, practice guidelines and tools, clinical trial information, abstracts from more than 110 oncology-relevant journals and more, in a simple, searchable platform.
"Having access to the latest and best information is vital for clinicians who want to offer the best quality care to their patients," said ESMO President-Elect Dr Martine Piccart. "OncologyPRO is a high-quality, user-friendly tool to help them cope with the rapidly growing body of knowledge about new cancer pathways, targets and drugs, and to update their skills in treating a variety of malignancies."
Jon Brett-Harris, Executive Vice President at Thomson Reuters, said: "Our partnership with ESMO has delivered a truly innovative and content-rich resource for ESMO members. In creating OncologyPRO, we integrated multiple sources of information from Thomson Reuters and ESMO and successfully mapped the related records within the portal. The result is a powerful resource that provides a single point of access to an unprecedented level of specialized oncology information."
OncologyPRO provides access to materials developed by ESMO such as congress webcasts and reports, clinical practice guidelines, CME publications and policy documents, in addition to a wider range of scientific information and news services offered by Thomson Reuters.
"OncologyPRO is by far the most comprehensive one-stop resource for oncology clinicians and oncologists involved in clinical research that I have ever used," said Dr Margaret Hutka, Senior Clinical Research Fellow in the GI & Lymphoma Unit at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
"The fact that I can access information from various angles -- such as clinical trials, biomarkers, publications, posters and slide libraries -- makes this service very valuable indeed," Dr Hutka said.
"The main strengths of OncologyPRO are derived from the multiple resources that it makes available and easy to navigate," agreed Dr Andrés Cervantes, Head of Section, Hematology and Medical Oncology Dept at INCLIVA Health Research Institute, University of Valencia, Spain. "Moreover, you can directly access not only ESMO's own Annals of Oncology, but also other journals. This is a very specific feature that you cannot find on other websites."
ESMO designed OncologyPRO specifically to foster the sharing of knowledge and best practice for both clinical practice and research, Dr Piccart said. "We strongly believe that there is a need to shift from individuals or small groups of people working on a single project, to shared information, networks of information at a national as well as international level. OncologyPRO will help facilitate that development."
"In this era of personalized medicine, the information that doctors need in order to deliver the best quality care to their patients is evolving all the time," said ESMO President, Dr David Kerr. "We at ESMO are very happy that through our partnership with Thomson Reuters we have developed a revolutionary new platform that will help ensure all our members can access the best, and most up to date information to enhance their practice to deliver quality cancer care to their patients."