{"entity":{"id":"tcga-tiers","kind":"term","name":"TCGA open versus controlled data tiers","aka":["TCGA open tier","TCGA controlled tier","open-access tier","open access data tier","controlled tier","GDC open data","GDC controlled data"],"tldr":"TCGA data comes in two tiers: open files (gene expression, somatic mutations, clinical tables, slide images) anyone can download, and controlled files (raw reads, germline variants) that need dbGaP approval.","summary":"The GDC's access documentation divides its data into open access, which requires no authorisation and carries only a ban on attempting to re-identify participants, and controlled access, which requires an approved dbGaP application because the files could identify a person. Expression matrices, somatic MAFs, copy number segments, methylation betas, RPPA and diagnostic slides are open; BAM files and germline calls are controlled. Most public cancer models are trained entirely on the open tier.","asOf":"2026-09-24","links":[{"label":"GDC: obtaining access to controlled data","url":"https://gdc.cancer.gov/access-data/obtaining-access-controlled-data"},{"label":"NCI Genomic Data Commons API (data-sources)","url":"https://gdc.cancer.gov/developers/gdc-application-programming-interface-api"}],"tags":["cansim-terms"],"related":["tcga-gdc","cancer-ai-vocabulary"],"cancers":[],"sections":[],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["controlled-access-data","data-use-agreements"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":["Listed in the CanSim terms map 1.0.0 (docs/onco/terms.json, generated 2026-09-24), CC BY 4.0, attribution: CanSim project, an open, public-data-first cancer foundation-model programme; CanSim page path /terms/tcga-open-vs-controlled-tiers."],"provenance":{"editedBy":"OnCo CanSim terms wave (Wikipedia summaries, standards and project pages, GDC and FDA pages, Europe PMC)","editedOn":"2026-09-24","note":"CanSim terms map 1.0.0 (docs/onco/terms.json, generated 2026-09-24), CC BY 4.0, attribution: CanSim project, an open, public-data-first cancer foundation-model programme"},"category":"Regulation & policy"},"route":"/terms/tcga-tiers/","neighbours":{"collection":[{"id":"tcga-gdc","kind":"collection","name":"TCGA / NCI Genomic Data Commons","route":"/collections/tcga-gdc/"}],"term":[{"id":"cancer-ai-vocabulary","kind":"term","name":"Cancer AI vocabulary (CanSim terms map)","route":"/terms/cancer-ai-vocabulary/"},{"id":"controlled-access-data","kind":"term","name":"Controlled-access genomic data (dbGaP, EGA)","route":"/terms/controlled-access-data/"},{"id":"data-use-agreements","kind":"term","name":"Data use agreements and consent for research use","route":"/terms/data-use-agreements/"},{"id":"tcga-barcode","kind":"term","name":"TCGA barcode","route":"/terms/tcga-barcode/"}]}}