Notice Regarding Research Proposals
After more than 25 years dedicated to advancing international academic breast cancer research, BIG is entering a wind-down phase. BIG’s Executive Board decided on 2 December 2025 to proceed with the closure of the organisation.
We would like to reassure you that BIG remains fully committed to ensuring continuity for patients. The AURORA Program will therefore continue without interruption. The sponsorship of the AURORA Program has been transferred to the Institut Jules Bordet (IJB), which looks forward to continuing collaboration under this new structure and to the successful continuation of the AURORA study.
Thanks for your understanding.
Welcome to the AURORA Cancer Discovery manuscript data sharing website
This website provides guidelines for accessing clinical and molecular data from the AURORA manuscript, published in Cancer Discovery in 2021 (Aftimos et al, Genomic and transcriptomic analyses of breast cancer primaries and matched metastases in AURORA, the Breast International Group (BIG) molecular screening initiative)
Data is available from the 371 patients studied in the manuscript. A description of the available data can be found on the data description tab. This data set is referred to as "the AURORA manuscript data". Access to the data is managed in a way that ensures patients' privacy and complies with all applicable laws and regulations, including the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The expanded datasets that were used for the analyses of the AURORA Working Groups and Data Analysis Committee will also be accessible through this platform once the results are published
Accessing AURORA Manuscript Data for Original Research
We welcome applications to access the AURORA manuscript data to perform original clinical or translational research. Access may be requested to the processed data and, if necessary, the corresponding raw molecular data.
How to apply:
Complete the research proposal application form
Researchers must complete a research proposal application form including:
- the scientific objectives of the proposed research
- the methodology
- acceptance of intellectual property rights (these are mandatory and non-negotiable)
The form is available here. Please note that incomplete proposal forms will not be processed.
Submit your proposal to:
Review and approval process:
Each proposal is reviewed for scientific and clinical significance, practical feasibility, and potential overlap with existing work, and requires endorsement by the AURORA Steering Committee. The review and approval process may take up to three weeks.
Data Transfer Agreement (DTA):
Upon approval, IJB will initiate the preparation of the appropriate DTA. No data will be shared until the DTA is fully executed.
Please note that the following clauses of the DTA are non-negotiable:
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) compliance
- Agreement governed and construed in accordance with Belgian law
- Appendix I: Intellectual Property Rights
Accessing AURORA Manuscript Data to Reproduce Manuscript Findings
Processed data are available for the purpose of reproducing the analyses described in the manuscript.
How to request access:
To obtain access, you must submit a formal request via email to: aurora.program@hubruxelles.be
Data Transfer Agreement (DTA):
Once your request is received, BIG will initiate the preparation of the appropriate Data Transfer Agreement (DTA) for reproducibility which must be fully executed before any data can be shared. Access to the data per this DTA is solely for reproducibility purposes.
Please note that the following clauses of the DTA are non-negotiable:
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) compliance
- Agreement governed and construed in accordance with Belgian law
- Appendix I: Intellectual Property Rights
Publication Requirements
All publications based on the AURORA manuscript data must comply with the AURORA Publication Policy (included as an appendix to the DTA):
- Publications are expected to have a draft version within 2 years of data transfer
- All publications must acknowledge the Program as the source of Data used in the Research Proposal, the Program partners (BIG, IJB-CTSU and Frontier Science) and all entities funding the program.