The main objective of RACOON-PDAC is to develop and implement a highly accurate prognostic assessment of response to the currently most common chemotherapy for pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC), i.e. a treatment based on FOLFIRINOX and gemcitabine. To achieve this goal, RACOON-PDAC will collect and analyse the largest real-world data cohort, focusing on baseline data in correlation with clinical data. The successful completion of this project will have a significant impact on the routine clinical care of PDAC patients as it will, for the first time, enable an informed clinical decision-making process regarding the choice of the most effective chemotherapy regimen for a given patient.
It will also provide data for training additional statistical and machine learning models for other clinically relevant endpoints. Standardised workflows for structured reporting and automated and manual extraction of PDAC-specific imaging biomarkers will be made available on all RACOON nodes. As no pharmacological breakthrough in the treatment of PDAC patients is expected within the next 5 years, this project was specifically designed to build a unique database that has the potential to enable rapid translation into routine clinical practice by identifying urgently needed, clinically directly applicable predictive imaging biomarkers. However, the data will be shared beyond the primary project in compliance with applicable regulations to support future research beyond this primary objective. This project will be the first oncology "use case" to promote the BI-RACOON infrastructure, following the same integrative, participatory, synergistic concept that characterises RACOON.