IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics (J-BHI) information for authors

Cancer is responsible for a lot of patient suffering and for the early deaths of millions of people worldwide each year. Because every patient is unique and every cancer is different, accurate patient stratification and the selection of the right treatment are very complex, leading to treatment outcomes that vary hugely from patient to patient. At the same time, societal pressures to control the cost of cancer care, the variety of treatment options, and the diversity of cancer population all combine to drive the pursuit of a more cost-effective, equitable, and sustainable learning health system. With the help of prospective and randomized clinical trials, significant advances in the outcome of patients with cancer have been achieved during the last decades. That notwithstanding, despite major improvements in cancer patient risk stratification many patients are still dying. In fact, for many cancer types we are achieving a plateau of survival that is difficult to overcome. Only by including new scientific achievements as described below can personalized medicine or precision medicine be realized, thus leading to better outcomes. This includes a novel fundamental understanding of cancer, changing from phenomenology to integrated profiling of the tumor, the tumor microenvironment, the host and the external environment, encompassing for comorbid conditions, lifestyle and medication.