Cancer Etiology & Prognosis

Observational data from large cohorts form the basis for studying a variety of risk factors for the etiology and progression of a number of cancer types, such as breast, colorectal, kidney, lung, and prostate cancer. There is a strong focus on lifestyle risk factors, as well as genetic and molecular determinants.      

The research theme Cancer Etiology & Prognosis is for the most part embedded within the Netherlands Cohort Study on Diet and Cancer (NLCS). The NLCS is a longstanding cohort study that started in 1986 and includes 120,852 men and women aged 55-69 years, recruited from 204 municipalities throughout the country. At baseline, cohort members completed a mailed questionnaire on dietary habits and other risk factors for cancer. Toenail clippings were also collected. The NLCS uses a case-cohort design, with regular follow-up of incident cancer cases by record linkage to the Netherlands Cancer Registry, the national pathology registry PALGA, and the causes of death registry (Statistics Netherlands). In addition, follow-up of vital status of incident cancer cases is achieved through linkage to the Central Bureau of Genealogy and municipal population registries. The overall objective of the NLCS is to study lifestyle and molecular determinants of the etiology of various types of cancer.