Neal Freedman

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NCI, DCEG, NEB

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PLCO (Learn more about this study)

2008-0213

Jan 23, 2009

Gastric Cancer Cohort Consortium Study

Gastric cancer is the fourth most common incident cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in the world. Rates are generally higher in developing countries, and lower in North American and Western European countries. Most cohort studies, such as PLCO, were initiated in populations at lower risk for gastric cancer. As a result, case numbers are small in most cohort studies. Small case numbers have severely limited the power of prospective studies on gastric cancer in several ways. There has been limited power to study gene-environment interactions (e.g., the interaction between alcohol consumption and alcohol-metabolizing genes in causing gastric cancer); to examine the associations of etiologic factors by anatomic subtype (cardia versus noncardia); to assess the role of various factors by Helicobacter pylori (Hp) status (e.g., the association between smoking and gastric cancer by H. pylori status); to detect modest associations (e.g., the associations between fruit and vegetable intake and future risk of gastric cancer); and finally to study the associations separately in men and women. In addition, due to small case numbers, many cohorts, such as PLCO, have not analyzed their data. The purpose of this collaborative effort is to develop a large nested case-control study by pooling prospectively collected specimens from multiple cohort studies, which can be used to conduct studies of gastric cancer. With almost 2500 prospectively collected cases with available sources of blood and DNA, this project would provide a rich and unique resource for helping to clarify the association of suspected gastric cancer risk factors and for identifying new risk factors.