NCCN Database Expanding to Include Cancer Pain Outcomes

MINNEAPOLIS—Medtronic, Inc. and the National Comprehensive Cancer network (NCCN) have announced that they are partnering in an effort to shed light on a key concern of cancer patients and their families: the best way to control cancer pain while preserving patients’ quality of life.

Medtronic will provide up to $525,000 in a 3-year agreement to support the development and expansion of the NCCN Oncology Outcomes Database. The NCCN database will provide information about various pain therapies administered under the network’s cancer pain treatment guidelines to facilitate comparisons of various techniques and outcomes. Initial data are expected to be available by April 2001.

Medtronic, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, is a medical technology company specializing in implantable and interventional therapies, including the Medtronic SynchroMed implantable drug infusion system that is used to deliver controlled doses of pain medication intrathecally. The NCCN, established in 1995, is a coalition of 17 leading US cancer treatment centers. Its Oncology Practice Guidelines cover more than 90% of all cancers, and its database includes information on more than 2,000 patients.

The NCCN database will compile information on patients’ pain and quality of life before, during, and after cancer therapy. The database will also collect and analyze data on how physician practices adhere to the updated version of the NCCN guidelines for the management of cancer pain and how patients benefit from the provision of a range of pain therapies.