Abstract
Background
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) tests are integral to oncology care. To address the need for clinical and NGS data management, interpretation, and reporting, we developed iCatalog for the multi-institutional Individualized Cancer Therapy 2/Genomic Assessment Informs Novel Therapy Consortium (GAIN) pediatric precision oncology (PO) study.
Methods
We designed iCatalog as a secure, web-based clinical decision support application that stores and integrates clinical, specimen, and molecular data from multiple sources at the patient level. The knowledge base (KB) and centralized patient/test database are intended to manage information for the 825 patients expected to enroll in the GAIN study. User permissions and access are controlled. Gene- and variant-level interpretation is facilitated through linked external resources and an internal KB that can be updated during application use. iCatalog generates editable, study-specific patient reports for each molecular test.
Results
Launched to support the GAIN study, iCatalog integrates genomic data from eight NGS platforms, generates 1002 clinical interpretation reports, and stores data for 1194 tests involving 777 patients with pediatric solid tumors across 133 diagnoses. The KB contains pediatric cancer-specific curations, authored by the research team, spanning 581 genes and 2659 variants (including 2146 single-nucleotide variants and insertions-deletions, 235 copy-number variants, 278 structural variants).
Conclusions
iCatalog is a robust tool designed and proven to support a PO study. It integrates clinical and genomic data to facilitate the clinical interpretation and reporting of variants identified through NGS testing while maintaining a pediatric-specific KB generated during the study. As a scalable, modular platform, iCatalog can accelerate clinical decision-making and elevate PO insights across studies.
Plain language summary
iCatalog is a web-based application developed to support a study evaluating the benefit of tumor profiling in the care of young cancer patients. iCatalog combines information used to determine patient care implications of tumor profiling. Patient (e.g., age, cancer diagnosis), sample (e.g., identification number, date), and genomic data (e.g., mutations, deletions, amplifications) are merged. iCatalog links genomic results to knowledge repositories and auto-generates reports, allowing experts to easily create patient-specific reports for use in the clinic. On this platform, 1002 reports were generated detailing the therapeutic and diagnostic implications of tumor profiling. Pediatric-specific knowledge on 581 genes was generated. As tumor sequencing becomes standard of care, tools reducing barriers to interpreting results for patient care become more important.
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Data availability
Data and additional supporting information are available in supplemental tables. The source data for Fig. 4A-B is in Supplementary Data 7 and 8, and Fig. 4C is in Supplementary Data 9. The source data for Fig. 5A-B is in Supplementary Data 10, and Fig. 5C is in Supplementary Data 11. Data not included in the supplemental files are available in a prior publication by Church et al.8 or can be provided upon request to Katherine Janeway (katherine_janeway@dfci.harvard.edu).
Code availability
iCatalog was developed through a collaborative effort between the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and the University of Chicago, with the University of Chicago retaining administrative control over the release of the source code. The codes for the original iCatalog and research versions are hosted in a private Bitbucket repository and available upon request. Interested parties may request access by contacting the co-first author and software developer at the University of Chicago (Wenjun Kang, wkang2@bsd.uchicago.edu) or the corresponding author (Katherine Janeway, katherine_janeway@dfci.harvard.edu).
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Acknowledgements
Funding for this study was provided by the Precision For Kids Pan Mass Challenge Team, the 4 C’s Fund, Lamb Family Fund, C&S Wholesale Grocers, and C&S Charities.
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Contributions
W.K.: validation, software development, resources, visualization; L.L.D.L.V.: data curation, writing—original draft, visualization, formal analysis of knowledge base, refinement of user interface; H.C.: resources, visualization, refinement of user interface, project administration; E.A.: data curation, visualization, refinement of user interface; L.D.M.: investigation, data curation; A.K.: investigation, data curation; E.S.: visualization, refinement of user interface; E.C.: resources, supervision, project administration; L.C.: conception, refinement of user interface, data curation; J.W.: resources, refinement of user interface; D.A.W.: investigation, data curation; M.A.A.: investigation, data curation; S.I.C.: investigation, data curation; M.C.: resources, supervision; J.A.J.: resources, supervision; S.V.: conception, funding acquisition; N.R.P.: investigation, data curation, refinement of user interface; A.J.C.: conception; K.A.J.: investigation, conception and refinement of user interface visualization, validation, data curation, funding acquisition; All authors contributed to revisions and approved the final manuscript for publication.
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Competing interests
W.K., L.L.D.L.V., H.C., E.A., L.D.M., A.K., E.S., E.C., L.C., J.W., D.A.W., M.A.A., S.I.C., S.V., N.R.P., A.J.C. have no conflicts. M.C. consults for Tellic and Impetus. J.A.J. has received travel support from MDClone to attend scientific meetings. K.A.J. consults for Recordati and receives research funding from AstraZeneca.
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Kang, W., Lazo de la Vega, L., Comeau, H. et al. Introducing iCatalog as a clinical decision support tool for collaborative pediatric precision oncology studies. Commun Med (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-01351-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-01351-2
