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Cases and Controls

A case-control study compares two groups of people: those with the cancer under study (cases) and those who do not have the cancer (controls). Researchers compare the genetic, environmental, lifestyle, and medical histories of the people in the two groups to identify factors associated with cancer.

Selected examples of DCEG case-control studies:

AsiaLymph, an international hospital-based case-control study of lymphoma among Chinese in Eastern Asia to replicate and extend recent and novel observations made in studies of White populations with distinctly different patterns of environmental and occupational risk factors and genetic loci. 

African Esophageal Cancer Consortium (AfrECC) facilitates collaborations to coordinate etiologic and molecular studies of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in East Africa.

Breast, Ovary and Endometrial Cancer Studies in Poland

  • Ovarian and Endometrial Cancer Case-Control Study in Poland was conducted among female residents of Warsaw and Lodz (Poland) between 2001 and 2003. Current projects include methylation profiling, tumor gene sequencing, microsatellite instability analysis, and immunohistochemistry to study the etiologic heterogeneity of endometrial and ovarian cancers.

Case-control Studies of Renal Cell Cancer

  • Renal Cell Cancer among White and African American Adults in the United States, conducted in the metropolitan areas of Detroit and Chicago in collaboration with Wayne State University and the University of Illinois at Chicago. The aims of this study are to evaluate risk factors for renal cell cancer and examine why rates of this disease are higher among U.S. Black adults than White adults.
  • Renal Cell Cancer in Eastern Europe, conducted from 1999 to 2003 in collaboration with the International Agency for Research on Cancer to evaluate kidney cancer risks in relation to occupational and other environmental and lifestyle exposures in six centers across Eastern Europe. Factors being evaluated include occupational exposures, lifestyle factors, medical conditions, markers of genetic susceptibility, and tumor molecular characteristics.

The DETECT Study – Discovery and Evaluation of Testing for Endometrial Cancer in Tampons, a partnership with the University of Alabama Birmingham to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of self-sampling with vaginal tampons for endometrial cancer detection in a racially-diverse population of women undergoing hysterectomy.

Environment And Genetics in Lung cancer Etiology (EAGLE) is a large population-based case-control study designed and conducted to investigate the genetic and environmental determinants of lung cancer and smoking persistence using an integrative approach that allows combined analysis of genetic, environmental, clinical, and behavioral data.

Epidemiology of Burkitt Lymphoma in East African Children and Minors (EMBLEM), a large, multidisciplinary epidemiological effort designed to evaluate environmental and host factors associated with childhood Burkitt lymphoma in sub-Saharan Africa.

Nasopharyngeal Case-Control Study, conducted in Taiwan between 1991-1994 and 2010-2014, examines the role of viral, environmental, and genetic factors associated with the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Factors investigated include Epstein-Barr virus, diet, smoking, occupation, HLA, and other genetic polymorphisms. 

NCI-SEER Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) Case-Control Study, a multi-center, population-based study of 1,321 NHL cases and 1,057 controls that includes detailed interview data, biospecimens, and environmental samples.

New England Bladder Cancer Study, a population-based, case-control study of bladder cancer in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine, is designed to explain the reasons for the persistent excess of rates of bladder cancer in the northern New England area. Investigators collected data on 2,600 participants via personal interviews, biological samples (blood, buccal cells, urine, toenails, and tumor tissue), as well as drinking water samples.

Testicular Cancer among Military Servicemen: the STEED Study, a case-control study of testicular cancer among military servicemen. The project includes obtaining biosamples and questionnaire data from all participants. Pre-diagnostic serum samples are available from the approximately 1,100 cases and 1,100 controls enrolled in the study. 

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