What is the Genomic Data Commons?

The US National Cancer Institute's repository for the large public cancer genomics programmes. It holds sequencing and clinical data under controlled and open access tiers, and publishes summary counts openly.

Why did the counts come back empty at first?

Because the API returns case_count as null unless expand=summary is requested. It is a good example of an endpoint that will happily serve you a convincing-looking board of nothing.

Yes. It comes from The NCI Genomic Data Commons API, key-free. Nothing is invented or simulated, and if the source cannot be reached the saver reports that instead of drawing something plausible.

Does it cost anything or need an account?

No. Every screensaver here is free, runs in the browser and needs no sign-up. This one uses a public API that requires no key.

The Cancer Archive Screensaver

The Cancer Archive screensaver ranks projects in the NCI Genomic Data Commons by case count — the number of patients whose tumours were sequenced and whose data was made available to any researcher. It runs in the browser with nothing to install; press ESC to exit.

How the The Cancer Archive screensaver works

The saver reads The NCI Genomic Data Commons API, key-free.

No account and no key: the request goes straight from your browser, or from this site's own refreshed copy of the feed where the source does not permit browser access.

Values are drawn on a canvas that resizes with the window, so it works on a laptop or a wall display.

If the source is unreachable the saver says so on screen rather than showing stale numbers as though they were current.

A worked example

Fifteen projects ranked by case count, each with its project code and primary tumour site. TCGA, TARGET and CPTAC dominate the top. Each case is one person who consented to have their tumour sequenced and the result shared, which is worth holding in mind while reading a bar chart of them.

Settings & tips

Accent and Background recolour the display without changing the data.
Add it to a Multi-view grid to watch it alongside other live savers.
Press ESC at any time to leave fullscreen.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Genomic Data Commons?: The US National Cancer Institute's repository for the large public cancer genomics programmes. It holds sequencing and clinical data under controlled and open access tiers, and publishes summary counts openly.
Why did the counts come back empty at first?: Because the API returns case_count as null unless expand=summary is requested. It is a good example of an endpoint that will happily serve you a convincing-looking board of nothing.
Is this real data?: Yes. It comes from The NCI Genomic Data Commons API, key-free. Nothing is invented or simulated, and if the source cannot be reached the saver reports that instead of drawing something plausible.
Does it cost anything or need an account?: No. Every screensaver here is free, runs in the browser and needs no sign-up. This one uses a public API that requires no key.

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