Study
PLCO
(Learn more about this study)
Project ID
2011-0232
Initial CDAS Request Approval
Nov 3, 2011
Title
Feasibility of Establishing a Second Cancer Cohort Consortium
Summary
One in six cancers diagnosed today occurs among the nearly 12 million cancer survivors alive in the United States, yet few studies have provided clues to the underlying causal factors for second cancers. Identifying risk factors for second cancers provides critical information for cancer survivors and physicians and also advances our understanding of carcinogenesis for both the first and second cancers. Prospective cohort studies have a unique opportunity to contribute to our understanding of the etiology of second cancers, with follow-up on a large number of individuals, detailed information on a variety of exposures, and biospecimens for some study participants. Pooling data from multiple cohorts is essential to have sufficient statistical power to investigate second cancer risk factors, particularly for rarer second cancers or for investigation of second cancers among survivors of rarer cancers. However, methodological challenges must be addressed, such as differences in study populations among cohorts, variation in methods for patient follow-up, differences in exposure assessment, and lack of clinical data and detailed treatment information. To date, we have identified 7 cohorts (including PLCO) that are interested in contributing data to a "Second Cancer Cohort Consortium," enabling us to design a series of "proof-of-principle" studies described in a series of 3 linked proposals (with the other proposals led by Todd Gibson and Meredith Shiels). Herein we describe an overview paper aimed at assessing the feasibility of pooling data from existing epidemiologic cohort studies for the study of second cancer risks associated with lifestyle, environmental, and genetic factors.
Aims
Aims: The overarching aim of this proposal is to describe the participating cohorts, their participants, and the occurrence of second cancers. Specifically, we will: Describe key characteristics of the participating cohorts and their participants (e.g., source population, design, method of follow-up and outcome ascertainment, age, sex, race, % current/former smokers, %overweight/obese). Describe key characteristics of participants who are survivors of the six most common malignancies in adults (breast, prostate, lung, colorectal, and bladder cancer, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma), including relative survival. Quantify and compare age- and sex-specific incidence of selected second primary cancers among survivors of these six malignancies a) within cohorts, and b) between cohorts using external referent rates from sources such as the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data.
Collaborators
Todd Gibson (DCEG)
Lindsay Morton (DCEG)
Joshua Sampson (DCEG)
Meredith Shiels (DCEG)
