MiniTalk 2a The Sister Study

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Mini-Talk 2a The Sister Study

• Genetics, the environment, their interaction and
  breast cancer risk
• How will biomonitoring be used in this long-term
  study of sisters of women with breast cancer?
• A special thanks to Dr. Dale Sandler, PI of
  Sister Study, for sharing her slides and graphics
  that were used for this mini-talk

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The Sister Studyhttp//www.sisterstudy.org

• Following 50,000 sisters of women
  diagnosed with breast cancer for 10 yrs
• Explore linkages between genetics,
  biology and the environment
• Cancer and medical history
• Diet and exercise
• Personal care products use
• Residential exposures / GIS
• Workplace exposures

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The Sister Study -Creating a framework

• Create a framework to study current and future
  hypotheses
• Be responsive to current public concerns
• But, plan for the future
• The hypotheses we may have in 5 to 10 years may
  be very different than our current ideas of what
  may affect breast cancer risk.

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The Sister Study -Sample collection

• Variety of human specimens
• Blood
• Whole blood, serum/plasma
• Lymphocytes
• Urine sample
• Toenail clippings
• House dust swipes

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The Sister Study -Possible future analyses

• Hormones (estrogens, prolactin)
• Growth factors (insulin-like-growth factor)
• Dietary factors (vitamin metabolites)
• Polymorphisms in variety of genes
• DNA damage and repair

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The Sister Study -Possible future analyses

• Environmental exposures
• Metals (toenails and blood)
• Phthalates and pesticides (urine)
• Phenols, pesticides, PCBs, PAHs (blood / dust
  swipes)
• Solvents, pesticides, phytoestrogens, melatonin
  metabolites, brominated and chlorinated chemicals
  (blood)

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The Sister Study -Working with CDCs NCEH

• NIEHS is working with CDCs National Center for
  Environmental Health (NCEH)
• The types of biomonitoring and genetic analysis
  possible in 5 to10 years will probably be much
  greater than what is currently available
• Long-term storage of samples for future analysis

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The Sister Study -Storage of samples
Twelve -20o C freezers Six -80o C
freezers Each freezer holds 56,700
vials
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The Sister Study -Storage of samples
36 Liquid Nitrogen Tanks Each holds 275,184
straw samples