SDRF template for cancer/oncology study samples with tumor staging, grading, and clinical outcome metadata. Extends clinical-metadata with oncology-specific columns. Combine with organism template (human, vertebrates) and technology template (ms-proteomics, affinity-proteomics).
The oncology-metadata template extends clinical-metadata with cancer-specific staging,
grading, and outcome columns. It supports multiple standardized staging systems.
Key guidance:
characteristics[disease staging]: General disease stage (stage I-IV). Use NCIT orEFO terms.
characteristics[tumor stage]: TNM notation (e.g., T2N1M0). Prefix with p forpathological or c for clinical staging.
characteristics[dukes stage]: Colorectal cancer (A, B, C, D).characteristics[ann arbor stage]: Lymphoma (I-IV with A/B/E/S suffix).characteristics[gleason score]: Prostate cancer (sum or components: 3+4, 4+3).characteristics[weiss grade]: Adrenal cortical carcinoma (low, high).characteristics[histologic subtype]: Molecular/histologic classification (luminal A,triple-negative, adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma).
characteristics[survival time] / characteristics[last follow up]: Time with unitfor clinical outcome tracking.
characteristics[metastasis site] / characteristics[biopsy site]: UBERON/BTO termsfor anatomical locations.
Inherits all clinical-metadata columns (compound, dose, treatment, demographics).
| Column | Requirement | Source | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| characteristics[disease staging] | optional | oncology-metadata | Disease progression stage (stage I-IV, chronic phase, end stage) | |
|
Disease progression stage (stage I-IV, chronic phase, end stage)
ontology
— ontologies: ncit, efo
Disease staging should be a valid NCIT or EFO term
stage I, stage II, stage III, stage IV, chronic phase, end stage
|
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| characteristics[tumor grading] | optional | oncology-metadata | Histological tumor grade (describes how abnormal cells look) | |
|
Histological tumor grade (describes how abnormal cells look)
ontology
— ontologies: ncit
Tumor grading should be a valid NCIT term
grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, grade 4, high grade, low grade
|
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| characteristics[tumor stage] | optional | oncology-metadata | TNM staging notation (describes extent of cancer spread) | |
|
TNM staging notation (describes extent of cancer spread)
ontology
— ontologies: ncit
Tumor stage in TNM notation
T2N1M0, T3N0M0, T1N0M0, T4N2M1
|
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| characteristics[tumor size] | optional | oncology-metadata | Tumor size measurement | |
| characteristics[tumor mass] | optional | oncology-metadata | Tumor mass/weight measurement | |
| characteristics[histologic subtype] | optional | oncology-metadata | Cancer molecular or histologic subtype | |
|
Cancer molecular or histologic subtype
ontology
— ontologies: ncit
Histologic subtype should be a valid NCIT term
luminal A, luminal B, HER2-enriched, triple-negative, adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma
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| characteristics[metastasis site] | optional | oncology-metadata | Location where cancer has spread from primary site | |
|
Location where cancer has spread from primary site
ontology
— ontologies: uberon, bto
Metastasis site should be a valid UBERON or BTO term
liver, lung, bone, brain
|
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| characteristics[biopsy site] | optional | oncology-metadata | Specific anatomical location of biopsy | |
|
Specific anatomical location of biopsy
ontology
— ontologies: uberon, bto
Biopsy site should be a valid UBERON or BTO term
breast, colon, prostate, lung
|
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| characteristics[clinical data] | optional | oncology-metadata | Free-text clinical details (receptor status, treatment history, surgical details) | |
|
Free-text clinical details (receptor status, treatment history, surgical details)
pattern
— pattern:
^.+$
Free-text clinical data
ER+/PR+/HER2-, prior chemotherapy with doxorubicin, surgical resection performed
|
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| characteristics[clinical history] | optional | oncology-metadata | Relevant medical history information for the patient | |
|
Relevant medical history information for the patient
pattern
— pattern:
^.+$
Free-text clinical history
family history of breast cancer, previous radiation therapy, no significant medical history
|
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| characteristics[survival time] | optional | oncology-metadata | Patient survival time for survival analysis studies | |
|
Patient survival time for survival analysis studies
number_with_unit
Survival time with unit
24 month, 3 year, 180 day
|
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| characteristics[last follow up] | optional | oncology-metadata | Time of last clinical follow-up for longitudinal studies | |
|
Time of last clinical follow-up for longitudinal studies
number_with_unit
Last follow-up time with unit
36 month, 5 year, 365 day
|
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| characteristics[mitotic rate] | optional | oncology-metadata | Number of mitoses per high-power field (indicator of tumor proliferation) | |
|
Number of mitoses per high-power field (indicator of tumor proliferation)
pattern
— pattern:
^[\d]+(/\d+\s*HPF)?$
Mitotic rate as count or count per HPF
5, 12/10 HPF, 3/10 HPF
|
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| characteristics[dukes stage] | optional | oncology-metadata | Dukes staging for colorectal cancer (A, B, C, D) | |
|
Dukes staging for colorectal cancer (A, B, C, D)
values
— values:
A, B, C, D
Dukes stage (A-D)
|
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| characteristics[ann arbor stage] | optional | oncology-metadata | Ann Arbor staging for lymphoma (I, II, III, IV with optional A/B suffix) | |
|
Ann Arbor staging for lymphoma (I, II, III, IV with optional A/B suffix)
pattern
— pattern:
^(I|II|III|IV)[AB]?[ES]?$
Ann Arbor stage (I-IV with optional A/B suffix for symptoms, E for extranodal, S for spleen)
IA, IIB, IIIA, IVB, IIE
|
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| characteristics[gleason score] | optional | oncology-metadata | Gleason score for prostate cancer grading (sum of two pattern grades, range 2-10) | |
|
Gleason score for prostate cancer grading (sum of two pattern grades, range 2-10)
pattern
— pattern:
^\d+(\+\d+)?$
Gleason score as sum (e.g., 7) or component pattern (e.g., 3+4)
7, 3+4, 4+3, 9, 5+4
|
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| characteristics[weiss grade] | optional | oncology-metadata | Weiss scoring system for adrenal cortical carcinoma (low or high) | |
|
Weiss scoring system for adrenal cortical carcinoma (low or high)
values
— values:
low, high
Weiss grade (low or high)
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