UST wins grant to develop cancer-monitoring app

An interdisciplinary research team from the University of Santo Tomas has won a $20,000 grant for developing a prototype mobile app called iComPAsS that would help doctors monitor the symptoms of cancer patients and give them advice.

In a statement, UST recently announced that the research team was awarded the 2016 International Innovation Grant by the Conquer Cancer Foundation of American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) International.

The team is led by Dr. Teresa Sy Ortin, director of the UST Hospital Benavides Cancer Institute; and Dr. Jocelyn Que, chief program officer of the university’s Center for Pain Medicine, of the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery; and the USTH-BCI.

The grant would be used to help finance the group’s project titled “A Mobile Application for Monitoring PatientReported Outcomes in Cancer Care.”

The UST researchers were able to develop a prototype mobile app named iComPAsS (internet-based Computerized Patient Assessment System) in 2014 for use in mobile phones with the iOS and android operating systems.

The iComPAsS is envisioned to facilitate remote monitoring of patients’ symptoms so the physician can advise the need for a follow-up visit.

It is not intended to formulate a diagnosis, manage symptoms or take the place of a physician, but rather to complement current cancer care by reducing existing barriers that limit adequate management in the local setting – inadequate or delayed detection of symptoms, poor patient compliance, and lack of patient-physician communication.

The project is expected to be completed by next year.

In 2013, the Conquer Cancer Foundation and ASCO International launched the International Innovation Grant, a one-year research grant that provides up to $20,000 in support of novel and innovative projects that can have a significant impact on cancer control in low- and middle- income countries.

UST was one of four recipients of the grant this year.