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• Quebec Pancreas Cancer Study

Quebec Pancreas Cancer Study, Canada

Objective: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PC) is one of the most devastating cancers, with cure rates of only 1-3%. It is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in North America, with nearly as many deaths per year as new cases of this disease. Despite these tragic statistics, PC has been underrepresented in basic and clinical research studies compared to other cancers. The majority of PC cases are diagnosed following the sixth decade of life and the risk for developing PC by the age of 70 is estimated at 0.5% in the absence of a significant family history. However, individuals with a genetic predisposition to PC may have life-time risk of greater than 10%. We have established and are expanding the Québec Pancreas Cancer Study which is a prospective clinic-based pancreas cancer research registry consisting of clinical, family history and epidemiologic data, with accompanying biospecimens, from patients and their families. The aims of our study are to: • Study the epidemiology of PC in Québec, including the risk factors associated with pancreas cancer. • Characterize the contribution of known hereditary cancer syndromes to PC in Québec. • Search for novel genetic and epigenetic changes associated with hereditary PC. • Investigate the tumour biology of PC, including changes in the tumor micro-environment and the characterization of cancer stem cells. • Characterie biomarkers associated with PC, including circulating tumour cells. • Study the epidemiological, clinical and outcome associations with the genetic and biologic changes that occur in PC. Though this research network, we aim 1) to provide opportunities for patients and relatives of patients afftected by this devestating disease to participate in PC research and 1) to advance basic and clinical PC research in Québec