By Clinical Research News Staff 

December 18, 2024 | European researchers have achieved a breakthrough in privacy-preserving clinical studies through the first international application of secure multiparty computation (MPC). This advanced cryptographic method enabled institutions across borders to collaborate without sharing sensitive patient data, paving the way for privacy-respecting global research. 

Led by LMU University Hospital in Munich and Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, the study evaluated the efficacy of MR-guided radiotherapy for adrenal gland tumors. By encrypting and pooling patient data from both centers, researchers achieved meaningful statistical results on the treatment's safety and effectiveness—something not feasible with isolated datasets. The findings, published in npj Digital Medicine, showed promising survival rates and minimal side effects. 

The Federated Secure Computing initiative, funded by Germany's Stifterverband, played a key role in this achievement. The project developed open-source client-server software, designed to make MPC accessible to non-experts in academia and the public sector. “This technology ensures privacy while enabling high-quality research,” said Hendrik Ballhausen, Ph.D., a leading figure in the initiative. The middleware now allows researchers to perform secure analyses in minutes, overcoming MPC's historically prohibitive complexity. 

Unlike traditional methods like differential privacy, which require large datasets and add noise to obscure individual data points, MPC allows exact calculations even with limited patient data. The system splits data into encrypted "secret shares," distributed across secure compute nodes. Only the final output is revealed, ensuring no private information is exposed during analysis. 

The pilot study also set a blueprint for navigating the administrative and regulatory hurdles of privacy laws, particularly stringent in Europe. Researchers obtained patient consent explicitly detailing the encrypted and pseudonymized use of their data. “This approach addresses fears about losing control over shared data and ensures that data can only be accessed with active patient consent,” Ballhausen explained. 

The initiative opens doors for secure data-sharing across disciplines, including healthcare, finance, and citizen science. Researchers are now considering transatlantic collaborations, which Ballhausen acknowledges could take years to materialize. However, he remains optimistic: “This technology shows that privacy and collaboration are no longer at odds.” 

To learn more about this transformative approach to secure research, read the full article on Bio-IT World.