Trial Information

A Population Based Study of Genetic Predisposition and Gene-Environment Interactions in Colorectal Cancer in East Anglia

OBJECTIVES:

- To obtain epidemiological information and biological material on a population based
series of colorectal cancer cases.

- To define the proportion of colorectal cancer incidence attributable to mutations in
known predisposing genes such as MLH1 and MSH2.

- To establish whether mutations at other loci may predispose to colorectal cancer, by
comparing the frequency of alteration candidate genes in colorectal cancer patients
with the corresponding frequency in cancer-free controls identified through the
European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC) study.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study.

Patients complete an epidemiological questionnaire. The questionnaire also requests
identifying information about the patient's first-degree relatives.

Blood samples are collected from patients. DNA is extracted from these blood samples, from
samples collected from cancer-free control participants in MREC-SEARCH-CONTROL, and from
additional controls through the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC) study (a
population-based study of diet and health based in Norfolk, East Anglia). DNA samples are
analyzed for polymorphisms of low penetrance cancer susceptibility genes.

In addition to the colorectal cancer patients recruited for this study, patients with
breast, ovarian, prostate, colorectal, bladder, kidney, pancreatic, brain, and esophageal
cancer, malignant melanoma, and lymphoma cancer are recruited for the following related
clinical trials: MREC-SEARCH-BREAST, MREC-SEARCH-OVARIAN, MREC-SEARCH-PROSTATE,
MREC-SEARCH-ENDOMETRIAL, and MREC-SEARCH-CANCER.