CIDR: Elucidating Epigenetic Mechanisms of Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Pancreatic Cancer

This is a nested case-control study of 689 pancreatic cancer cases and 807 matched controls from the Multiethnic Cohort Study (MEC) (see dbGaP phs002183), a diverse prospective cohort of >215,000 African American, European American, Japanese American, Latino, and Native Hawaiian individuals from Hawaii and Los Angeles. The objective of this study is to identify blood DNA methylation markers of pancreatic cancer susceptibility and to examine whether epigenetics can partially explain the racial and ethnic disparities of pancreatic cancer. Our specific aims are: 1) to identify multiethnic epigenetic markers of pancreatic cancer risk, 2) to assess whether epigenetics improves the prediction of pancreatic cancer across race and ethnicity, and 3) to evaluate whether epigenetics mediates the association between known modifiable risk factors and pancreatic cancer. The findings from this study are expected to identify potential ethnic-specific carcinogenic processes and elucidate the determinants of racial and ethnic disparities in pancreatic cancer.]]>
Pancreatic cancer cases were identified via linkage to the state cancer registries of Hawaii and California. Only incident cases who were diagnosed after blood draw were included in the study. Controls were matched on sex, race and ethnicity, age/birth year (+/- 5 years), blood draw year (+/- 5 years), and study site (Hawaii/California) using incidence density sampling (control must be alive and without pancreatic cancer at age and date of case diagnosis).]]>
The Multiethnic Cohort Study was established in 1993-1996 at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center and the University of Southern California Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. Over 215,000 men and women, aged 45 to 75 years, from five main racial and ethnic groups (African American, European American, Japanese American, Latino, and Native Hawaiian) from Hawaii and Los Angeles were enrolled by completing a 26-page questionnaire. Biological specimens (mainly blood and urine) were collected from >70,000 participants from 1995-2006, largely from 2001-2006. Written informed consent was obtained for specimen collection, and all specimens were stored in special low temperature freezers.]]>