Canadian Cancer Research Alliance (CCRA)

The Common Scientific Outline (CSO) is a classification system specific to cancer research, which is organized around seven broad areas of scientific interest:

Each of these areas is subdivided giving a final figure of 38 individual CSO codes. To review the CSO in its entirety, please refer to the ICRP website at: http://www.cancerportfolio.org/cso.jsp. A french translation of the CSO is also available and was provided by the CCRA.

The CSO was developed by the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) in conjunction with the Department of Defense (DOD) US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command in the late 1990s. The CSO is now directed and managed by the International Cancer Research (ICR) Partners. The Partners include The Dutch Cancer Society, and 7 US and 19 UK organizations involved in the funding of cancer research. The UK organizations are represented by the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI). The Partners meet annually and via teleconference periodically throughout the year to share information and review the implementation of the CSO in their organizations.

Since the formation of the ICR Partners in September 2000, partners have focused on implementing the CSO to meet the needs of all member organizations. The CSO is now being used in many ways to inform internal and joint policies and it provides an internationally regulated framework that ensures comparability, consistency and accuracy of coding.

The data provided by ICR Partners are shared on the ICRP website, which was launched in 2003. The web site is provided as a public service by the Partners, and is hosted on the United States Government computer system at the NCI. CCRA became an ICR Partner in the summer of 2007.

Within the context of the CCRA Cancer Research Survey, the CSO makes it possible to compare and contrast the research portfolios of multiple organizations, and provides the information needed to improve coordination among research organizations.