Maximizing resources to study an uncommon cancer: E2C2--Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium.
Endometrial cancer affects more than 40,000 women a year in the U.S. While the association of this disease with high body mass index and sex steroid hormones is well known, there are many questions about etiology that have not been resolved. Little is known about the genetic basis for risk associated with hormones or obesity, other common genetic factors associated with risk, or gene-environment interactions. E2C2, the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium, was formed in 2006 to provide a collaborative environment for addressing these questions by pooling data from existing studies. This allows for investigations of uncommon risk factors, risk for rare histologic subtypes, and associations within strata that cannot be achieved in individual studies. This report describes the establishment of the consortium, ongoing projects that demonstrate the advantages of collaborative efforts, and challenges faced. Overall, the consortium promises to provide an important means of furthering our knowledge about this cancer.
Olson
Sara H
SH
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 307 East 63 Street, New York, NY 10065, USA. olsons@mskcc.org
Chen
Chu
C
De Vivo
Immaculata
I
Doherty
Jennifer A
JA
Hartmuller
Virginia
V
Horn-Ross
Pamela L
PL
Lacey
James V
JV
Lynch
Shannon M
SM
Sansbury
Leah
L
Setiawan
V Wendy
VW
Schouten
Leo J
LJ
Shu
Xiao Ou
XO
D001315:Australia; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics*; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006295:Health Resources / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D020407:Internet; D054547:National Cancer Institute (U.S.); D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States