Case Study: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute achieves rapid, data-driven insight into cancer vaccine clinical trials with TIBCO Software (Spotfire)

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Gains Unprecedented Insight into Cancer Vaccine Clinical Trials with TIBCO Spotfire

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Cancer Vaccine Center (CVC) set out to map the competitive landscape of cancer vaccine clinical trials by analyzing 645 trials from ClinicalTrials.gov, but inconsistent, redundant registry data made it difficult to get both a high-level overview and the ability to drill down into specifics. Traditional spreadsheet work or standard BI tools would have been time-consuming or required heavy IT support, so the team needed a faster, more flexible way to explore relationships and trends across multiple datasets.

Xiaohong Cao used TIBCO Spotfire to import, clean and visualize the data, completing the project in about three months (most time spent on data annotation). Spotfire’s interactive visual analytics exposed activity hotspots and gaps—identifying neglected cancers such as bladder, liver, pancreatic, stomach, esophageal and other low‑incidence cancers—helping Dana‑Farber shape strategy, informing clinicians and researchers, and generating wider interest through a coauthored publication.

Dana Farber Cancer Institute

Vladimir Brusic

CVC’s Director of Bioinformatics