# Link single-cell and spatial tumour atlases to clinical outcomes

Source: https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-data-atlas-to-outcome-linkage/  
OnCo record `idea-data-atlas-to-outcome-linkage` (Idea). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The detailed molecular maps of tumours being built today mostly lack information on what happened to the patient. Require every atlas sample to carry consented outcome data.

## Summary

The Human Tumor Atlas Network and similar single-cell and spatial efforts produce rich molecular maps, but clinical annotation is thin and outcome follow-up rare. The proposal requires atlas funding to include consent for registry linkage and a minimum clinical data set (mCODE), with outcome updates pushed annually, so that cell states discovered can be tested as prognostic and predictive markers without new cohorts.

## Fields

- Kind: Idea
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Hypothesis: Outcome-linked atlases will produce at least twice as many validated prognostic cell-state markers per dollar as unlinked atlases.
- Rationale: TCGA's value came largely from its clinical annotation and follow-up; single-cell atlases have repeated the molecular depth without the clinical linkage.
- Proposed test: Add registry linkage to one existing atlas cohort retrospectively; count the number of cell-state associations with survival that can be tested and how many replicate in an independent cohort.
- Maturity: early-clinical
- Actor: research

## Sources

- Bottleneck evidence (Data silos): AACR Project GENIE: https://www.aacr.org/professionals/research/aacr-project-genie/

## Connected records

- collections: [CPTAC (Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium)](https://onco.cc/collections/cptac/), [CZ CELLxGENE / Human Cell Atlas](https://onco.cc/collections/cellxgene-hca/), [TCGA / NCI Genomic Data Commons](https://onco.cc/collections/tcga-gdc/)
- fronts: [AI & Computation](https://onco.cc/fronts/ai-computation/)
- technologies: [Single-cell & spatial profiling](https://onco.cc/technologies/single-cell-spatial/)
- bottlenecks: [Biomarkers are not validated or standardised](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-biomarker-validation/), [Data silos](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-data-silos/)

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