POND4Kids: a global web-based database for pediatric hematology and oncology outcome evaluation and collaboration.

The Pediatric Oncology Network Database, (www.pond4kids.org, POND), is a secure, web-based, multilingual pediatric hematology/oncology database created for use in countries with limited resources to meet various clinical data management needs including cancer registration, delivery of protocol-based care, outcome evaluation, and assessment of psychosocial support programs. Established as a part of the International Outreach Program at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, POND serves as a tool for oncology units to store patient data for easy retrieval and analysis and to achieve uniform data collection to facilitate meaningful comparison of information among centers. Launched in 2003, POND now has 233 sites registered with over 1,000 users in 66 countries. However, adoption and usage of POND varies widely among sites. This paper reviews some of the challenges to developing a global collaborative clinical platform based on the experiences of developing POND. The paper also presents a case study of POND use in Guatemala, where the Guatemalan National Oncology Unit (UNOP) has developed extensive internal and external global collaborations using POND.