Understanding environmental exposures and cancer risks
News from the National Cancer Institute annual meeting
The 10,000 Families Study just secured its renewal to keep studying cancer risks posed by environmental exposures like radon and PFAS in Minnesota. We attended the annual meeting of the funded studies at the National Cancer Institute on November 1st and 2nd in Washington DC. Experts from all participant studies came together, to share updates on their groundbreaking programs and to engage in brainstorming to identify new ways to join forces for the greater good of all our communities.
Understanding the causes of cancer is a significant question that necessitates collaboration among teams across universities, government agencies, and communities. In pursuit of this objective, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) jointly established the Cohorts for Environmental Exposures and Cancer Risk (CEECR) in 2021. The 10,000 Families Study (10KFS) submitted a request for funding and was chosen as one of five new research studies that are part of this new initiative.
Cancer, a devastating disease that affects people worldwide, transcends age, gender, race, origin, and economic background. Its impact extends beyond individuals with the illness to include caregivers, families, friends, and communities, making it a collective concern. That is why a unified effort is imperative to comprehend its root causes.
Each study within the CEECR program is funded to investigate specific cancer problems, exploring environmental exposures and their correlation with liver cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, and other conditions. While some studies focus on individuals, the 10,000 Families Study examines the family as a whole, researching families in Minnesota as well as relatives in neighboring states.
To build synergy across research programs a coordinating center was established at the University of Wisconsin to host collaborative infrastructure, facilitating the integration of scientific research. This coordinating center is dedicated to enhancing the understanding of environmental exposures influencing cancer risks across diverse populations. It provides leadership, logistical support, fosters collaboration, and disseminates research findings.
In November, NCI leadership staff, the CEECR coordinating center, and funded research groups convened in Washington DC for the inaugural in-person annual meeting. During this gathering, research teams shared updates, presented ideas, exchanged information, and collectively addressed challenges. External experts also contributed valuable insights, offering feedback to improve studies and identify new research questions that we can pursue when we collaborate together.
On November 2nd, the focus was on biologic measures of environmental exposures. Dr. Gary Miller from Columbia University School of Public Health discussed cutting-edge methods to detect the biological impacts of environmental exposures measurable in blood samples.
Dr. Miller talked about Exposomics which is the study of the cumulative measure of environmental influences and associated biological responses throughout the lifespan of a person (exposome) that permits the measurement of internal and external exposures. He emphasized the challenge of tracking changes in environmental exposures when people change locations; this is particularly important for immigrant populations.
Following Dr. Miller’s presentation, each study presented its approach to measuring environmental exposures. Dr. Heather Nelson highlighted the 10,000 Families Study's progress, sharing that after the study receives wristbands and blood samples from participants, they are split into smaller amounts that can be used for numerous different measurements of environmental exposure. By the time of the meeting, 10KFS had over 18,000 individual vials of samples that can be used to study environment and cancer risk!
On November 3rd, the meeting centered on the importance of involving all communities in research studies. Dr. Dorothy Farrar Edwards from the University of Wisconsin-Madison provided insights on best practices to engage groups new to research studies, addressing potential barriers such as fear, mistrust, competing priorities, and institutional protocols.
Following Dr. Farrar Edward’s presentation, each study reported its progress on engaging participants in research. Dr. Jen Poynter provided an update on 10KFS, including information on family recruitment. At the time of the meeting 10KFS had recruited approximately 2,500 participants from nearly 900 families, with almost 20% residing in rural areas. Additionally, we discussed efforts to engage black, indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC populations) to mirror recent population trends in Minnesota.
Some common concerns among the research groups included the lack of male participation, strategies for garnering media attention for this crucial research, ways to encourage individuals to share our information with their peers and attracting the attention of influencers to help communicate our studies' goals. Various ideas were also proposed, such as reaching out to specific organizations that work with BIPOC populations, disseminating information through newsletters, and collaborating with professional associations.
A crucial aspect of the annual CEECR meeting involved brainstorming to identify new project ideas for collective pursuit. Goals included harmonizing information collection, sharing community feedback, building collaborations, and exploring opportunities for future grants. In addition, we spoke about idea sharing, diverse expertise, and long-term cancer outcomes.
A new direction was identified to potentially combine information on PFAS exposures, understanding how different groups across the country are exposed to these chemicals and their implications for future cancer risk. Lastly, there was an emphasis on reporting back information to participants, informing policymakers of our findings, and prioritizing collaboration across cohorts.
For more information on this and to learn more about the 10,000 Families Study, please contact us at: [email protected].
