Dar es Salaam ESCC Case-Control Study

-
Investigator: Katherine Van Loon, MD, MPH
Sponsor: NIH National Cancer Institute

Location(s): Tanzania

Description

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The Nutritional Epidemiology Branch of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics conducts research on the etiology of ESCC in high risk populations in several parts of the world including China, Iran, and Kenya. Another such high risk area is in Tanzania. NCI wishes to gather information on a small set of ESCC cases and matched controls in Tanzania to assess their similarities and differences with such data from other parts of the world.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI), Division of Cancer and Epidemiology (DCEG) has secured the services of The University of California San Francisco to collect data on cases of esophageal cancer and controls from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  The purpose of this procurement is to obtain data on Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) case subjects and controls from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The data will include a list of all cases and controls accrued during the funding period. A report of the histologic diagnosis (for cases), age, sex, primary residence within Tanzania, history of smoking, history of drinking, and occupational and environmental exposures will be provided for all subjects. The database will be annotated to reflect whether a saliva specimen was collected and the location of the specimen for future retrieval.  The University of California San Francisco has established a team in Dar es Salaam capable of enrolling esophageal cancer patients and representative controls.