HIV pathology data now reaching investigators within hours thanks to Proscia software
Established in 1994 and funded by the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institution has opted to use Proscia’s Concentriq for Research, a provider of digital and computational pathology solutions to encourage scientific exploration and discovery in cancer as well as PLWH.
The ACSR says its mission is to ‘acquire, store, and equitably distribute biospecimens, including tissue-based pathology data, and associated clinical data from PLWH to the scientific community at large’.
The data has been used by investigators to drive the development of new diagnostic and treatment approaches for HIV-associated malignancies. As digital pathology shifts the standard from microscopes to high-resolution images, the ACSR recognized an opportunity to improve access to its data and drive further breakthroughs by adopting the technology.
Fight against cancer
“We are fortunate to have a growing library of rare and valuable biospecimens that have contributed to the fight against cancer in PLWH,” said Paige Bracci, UCSF professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, and director of the ACSR’s informatics program.
“Concentriq for Research has enabled us to quickly realize the benefits of digital pathology and get this real-world data in the hands of more researchers faster. Proscia’s platform is not only making a difference for the scientific community but also for the patients impacted by its work.”
Since selecting the software, the ACSR has reduced the time it takes to provide investigators with pathology data from days to hours. As the pathology platform enables the sharing of images instead of glass slides, the ACSR can overcome geographical barriers and simultaneously share the same datasets so that more research teams can drive scientific advancements.
In addition, this approach allows for the conservation and increased sustainability of rare and exhaustible tissue specimens to a large number of individual researchers. The software, the ACSR says, also offers robust annotation and analysis tools to empower investigators in their work.
“We are proud to count the ACSR among the members of the Concentriq community,” said David West, Proscia’s CEO.
“It enables breakthrough research with its pathology data and has meaningfully improved access to this critical source of insight with our platform. We look forward to seeing the impact that the ACSR continues to make with enterprise digital pathology.”
Along with today’s news, the ACSR has announced the availability of a rare melanoma tissue repository on Concentriq for Research. A corresponding tissue microarray of these tumor tissues will be available in early 2024.
The AIDS and Cancer Specimen Resource (ACSR) biorepository includes specimens collected from PLWH who have been diagnosed with a wide spectrum of conditions and diseases, particularly cancers, pre- and post-highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).
Proscia is a software company hopes to change the way diseases like cancer are understood. The company says its Concentriq enterprise pathology platform and powerful AI applications are advancing the 150-year-old standard of research and diagnosis towards a data-driven discipline, unlocking new insights that accelerate research and development (R&D), improve patient outcomes, and fulfill the promise of precision care.
