Grant Details
Grant Number: |
3U01CA164973-11S1 Interpret this number |
Primary Investigator: |
Le Marchand, Loic |
Organization: |
University Of Hawaii At Manoa |
Project Title: |
Understanding Ethnic Differences in Cancer: the Multiethnic Cohort Study - Diversity Supplement |
Fiscal Year: |
2023 |
Abstract
Abstract – Parent Grant
This renewal application seeks support for the infrastructure of the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) Study, which was
established in Hawaii and southern California in 1993-1996 to study risk factors for cancer and other chronic
diseases. The study was designed to take advantage of the ethnic and cultural diversity of the two geographic
areas, as well as the expertise of the investigators in nutrition, ethnic/racial disparities studies, and genetics. It
is the most ethnically diverse cancer cohort in existence. It achieves high cost-efficiency by significantly
supplementing active follow-up information with computerized linkages to SEER cancer registries, vital statistics,
hospital-discharge diagnoses, medical claim data, electronic medical records and geospatial information. At
baseline, the cohort included information on 215,000 men and women, comprised almost entirely of five
ethnic/racial populations: Japanese Americans, Latinos, Whites, African Americans and Native Hawaiians. The
resource was later expanded to include a prospective biorepository of blood specimens from ~70,000 of the
participants and urine specimens on a large subset. Leadership of the MEC entails a highly interactive, team-
science approach, and the investigators have amply demonstrated their willingness to share data/samples, and
to participate actively in consortia. Research accomplishments include significant contributions to understanding
both genetic and environmental risk factors for cancer. Over 291 papers describing our findings have been
published during the current grant cycle. In addition, over the last 28 years, 129 NIH grants/supplements have
been built around the MEC (77 were active in the current cycle), and more than 136 students and postdoctoral
fellows have been trained on the study. This application describes our aims over the next 5 years for maintaining
and enhancing the infrastructure of the MEC, as well as plans for methodological research. We project adding
7,253 incident cancer cases in the new 5 years, to the current 48,064 cases; 2,670 of these cases will have pre-
diagnostic blood samples, to be added to the current 10,957 cases. We will add 6K FFPE tumor samples to the
current ~13K. In addition, this grant renewal will make possible the continuation of a well-integrated program of
research aimed at evaluating lifestyle, environmental, and genetic risk factors and social determinants of health
for cancer and other common chronic diseases, taking advantage of new approaches, such as dietary quality
indices, exposomics, genomics, epigenomics, microbiomics, metabolomics and multilevel exposures, including
spatial environment, structural racism, and climate change. The MEC will allow the testing of innovative research
hypotheses aimed at ensuring that racial/ethnic health disparities are investigated and that progress in disease
prevention applies to all major US racial/ethnic minorities.
Publications
None. See parent grant details.