CTCAE v4.0 vs NCCN Guidelines®

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) is a standardized system to quantify or grade the severity of adverse events (AE) that occur with drug treatment or from medical devices. A definition of mild (grade 1), moderate (2), severe (3), life-threatening (4) and death related to AE (5) events is provided for each AE term. The CTCAE v4.02 was published by NCI on October 6, 2009, and is used by many healthcare providers and researchers to characterize adverse events consistently. The Center for Biomedical Informatics (CBMi) at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has converted the 190+ pages of the CTCAE v4.02 document into an intuitive iPhone application. With this application, healthcare providers can reference the full CTCAE v4.02 with an iPhone or iPod Touch, allowing for bedside grading at the time of a visit and generally allowing the information to be accessed from anywhere at any time. The application contains all published grading standards for all 26 categories of adverse events as well as event definitions. The application also offers a variety of advantages over the flat file CTCAE v4.02, including: * Hierarchical navigation of adverse event categories * Ability to bookmark adverse events and categories to quickly access frequently graded events * Search for events across names, definitions and grades This application is one example of the many ways in which CBMi helps transform clinical care and research at our institution and across the industry. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is a non-profit entity as defined by Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. About The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country, ranking third in National Institutes of Health funding. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 460-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu. About The Center for Biomedical Informatics: The Center for Biomedical Informatics (CBMi) resides in The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute as the home for development of innovative solutions to healthcare's immediate and long-term informatics needs. We provide informatics-focused services, products, and educational programs to Children's Hospital clinicians and researchers and seek to transform their craft with high-impact, low-cost solutions. For more information, visit http://www.research.chop.edu/cbmi. References: Please note that NCI has directed us to use the May 29, 2009 reference without regard to updates. Our app uses the most updated version of the CTCAE despite our reference to the original. National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v4.0 NCI, NIH, DHHS. May 29, 2009 NIH publication # 09-7473

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), is pleased to present the Virtual Library of NCCN Guidelines® app formatted for iPhone & iPad. This easy-to-use and convenient format will further assist health care professionals in their implementation of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®), thus improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer. NCCN is a not-for-profit alliance of leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education. NCCN is dedicated to improving and facilitating quality, effective, efficient, and accessible cancer care so patients can live better lives. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. By defining and advancing high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers around the world. Over the past 25 years, NCCN has developed an integrated suite of tools to improve the quality of cancer care. The NCCN Guidelines® document evidence-based, consensus-driven management to ensure that all patients receive preventive, diagnostic, treatment, and supportive services that are most likely to lead to optimal outcomes. The NCCN Guidelines are a comprehensive set of guidelines detailing the sequential management decisions and interventions that apply to 97 percent of cancer cases in the United States. In addition, separate guidelines relate to major prevention and screening topics and another set of pathways focuses on the major supportive care areas. The NCCN Guidelines provide recommendations based on the best evidence available at the time they are derived. Because new data are published continuously, it is essential that the NCCN Guidelines also be continuously updated and revised to reflect new data and new clinical information. The intent of the NCCN Guidelines is to assist in the decision-making process of individuals involved in cancer care—including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, payers, patients and their families—with the ultimate goal of improving patient care and outcomes. The NCCN Guidelines provide recommendations for appropriate care for most but not all patients; however, individual patient circumstances must be considered when applying these recommendations. Visit NCCN.org to learn more about the NCCN Guidelines as well as other NCCN Content.