Data Core
The Data Core, co-led by Ann Schwartz, Joanne Dorgan, Jaeil Ahn, will provide support for the identification of research-ready resources and consultation on their use. These resources can be leveraged for pilot analyses to:
1) generate hypotheses, test multi-level/regional or study-level influences on disparities and support larger studies,
2) facilitate meta-analysis of effects of multi-level disparities factors across studies,
3) rigorously justify pooling data across homogenous populations using the same/exchangeable measures, and
4) harmonize and integrate data across studies that include disparate measures of comparable constructs within our multi-level framework.
Contact us at ireach@georgetown.edu with any additional questions.
Bioinformatics,Biostatistics, Genetic Epidemiology, Glycoscience. Dr. Ahn’s research explores cognitive aging of breast cancer survivors, clinical trials and machine learning to evaluate aging outcomes.
Dr. Dorgan’s research focuses on hormonal determinants of cancer, particularly breast cancer, and how diet, physical activity and genetics influence risk through hormonal pathways.
Cancer, Health Disparities, Population Research, Epidemiology. Dr. Schwartz’s research has focused on familial aggregation of lung cancer, inflammation and lung cancer risk, and racial disparities in prostate cancer aggressiveness.
Studies that will be available in the I-REACH database include, but are not limited to:
I-REACH Investigator Co-Lead Studies:
Thinking and Living with Cancer (TLC) Study: The goal of the TLC Study is to evaluate the impact of systemic therapy on the mind (“cognition”) in older breast cancer patients. Breast cancer is a major health problem facing older women and chemotherapy and hormonal treatments are some of the possible treatments offered to women. Because very few women 60 years of age and older have been invited to join past breast cancer studies, we don’t have much information available on the effect of chemotherapy and hormonal treatment on the mind (“cognition”). We enroll women over 60 who have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, as well as healthy controls. This study is being done nationally, with recruiting sites at Georgetown University, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Moffitt Cancer Center, and Indiana University.
Detroit ROCS: Population-based cohort of 5,073 African American cancer survivors residing in metropolitan Detroit at the time of diagnosis and 1,057 of their caregivers.
Data
– Baseline survey and annual follow-up through online, phone or mailed questionnaires
– Questionnaires include demographics, medical history, family history of cancer, quality of life endpoints, discrimination, financial status (see website for questionnaires)
Biospecimens
– Blood collected for germline DNA and RNA and plasma
– Saliva collected when blood not available for germline DNA
– FFPE tumor tissue collected for tumor DNA and RNA
Other National Studies:
IADR
Michigan-Wayne State RCMAR
U Mass
NCI Cohort Studies: The NCI Cohort Consortium is an extramural-intramural partnership formed by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to address the need for large-scale collaborations to pool the large quantity of data and biospecimens necessary to conduct a wide range of cancer studies. Through its collaborative network of investigators, the Consortium provides a coordinated, interdisciplinary approach to tackling important scientific questions, economies of scale, and opportunities to quicken the pace of research.
Women’s Health Initiative (WHI)
Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program: The SEER Program provides information on cancer statistics in an effort to reduce the cancer burden in the U.S. population. Population-based cancer registry data are collected at sites across the U.S. Cancer incidence, mortality and survival statistics are available.
SEER-Medicare linked database: The SEER-Medicare data reflect the linkage of two large population-based sources of data that provide detailed information about elderly persons with cancer, which can be used for an array of epidemiological and health services research.
SEER-Medicare Health Outcomes Survey Linked Database: The SEER-MHOS database links two large population-based sources of data that provide detailed information about elderly persons with cancer. The data come from SEER’s cancer registries that collect clinical, demographic and cause of death information for persons with cancer and the Medicare Health Outcomes Survey (MHOS) that provides information about the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of Medicare Advantage Organization (MAO) enrollees.
SEER-Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (SEER-CAHPS) Linked Data Resource: The SEER-CAHPS data set links 3 types of data: clinical (SEER), survey (CAHPS), and administrative/billing (Medicare claims and enrollment files). The data are linked through the collaborative efforts of NCI, the SEER registries, and CMS.
SEER-Medicaid Linked Data Resource: The SEER-Medicaid data reflect the linkage of two large population-based sources of data that provide information about Medicaid beneficiaries with cancer. The data come from SEER and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) Medicaid enrollment information from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
All of Us Research Hub: All of Us is a prospective cohort study aimed at enrolling a diverse group of one million individuals aged 18 years and older across the US. As of March 2024, approximately 534,000 individuals, 45% of whom are underrepresented minorities, consented, agreed to share electronic health records, completed the first three surveys, provided physical measurements, and donated a biospecimen. Visit the website for more information about the cohort and resources available to researchers.
Connect for Cancer Prevention Study: The NCI Connect for Cancer Prevention Cohort is a prospective cohort study in the US aimed at enrolling 200,000 individuals 30-70 years with no history of invasive cancer other than non-melanoma skin cancer. Recruitment focuses on recruiting diverse individuals from different geographic areas. Participants are asked to complete an online questionnaire and donate blood biospecimens at baseline and periodically throughout the duration of follow-up, as well as provide access to their electronic health records (EHRs). Information on cancer diagnoses is obtained via tumor registries and EHRs. Visit the website for more information about the cohort and resources available to researchers.
