Collaborations

Collaboration is basic to the Cancer Epidemiology Centre's philosophy. Collaboration crosses all of the other themes and is essential to achieving the centre's strategic aims. Collaboration will be the vehicle for new initiatives both in scientific and infrastructure support by which we will be able to acquire new knowledge for cancer control. Collaboration is also the best way to use our resources to assist reseachers in other chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

Current projects

For further information on any of the current research projects please email cec@cancervic.org.au.

The Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (Health 2000)

HealthIron: Epidemiology of hereditary haemochromatosis

The contribution of smoking to socio-economic differentials in mortality among Australian men

Affect and anger control and risk of cancer

Healthy ageing

Genetic polymorphisms and the risk of lung cancer

The effect of physical activity in preventing osteoarthritis

Helicobacter pylori infection and risk of gastric cancer

The weight of modernity: mitigating obesity

Predictors of cardiovascular disease mortality in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study

Validation of cardiovascular disease risk prediction equations in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study

(APCSC) Asia Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration

Risk factors for age-related macular degeneration (AMD)

Retinal arteriolar signs and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in an Australian cohort

Glutathione peroxidase 1 and cardiovascular events in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study

A randomised trial assessing a shade development intervention in secondary schools for adolescent skin cancer prevention

Melanoma diagnosis and the effect of screening on depth of invasion of melanoma

Kidskin

HealthIron: epidemiology of hereditary haemochromatosis

Investigator(s): Gertig D, Allen K, Anderson G, Bahlo M, Bassett M, Delatycki M, Du Sart D, English D, Forrest S, Giles G, Hodge A, Hopper J, Mclaren C, Olynyk J, Powell L, Southey M, Vulpe C

Objective(s):

To determine what environmental risk factors modify hereditary haemochromatosis.
To identify genetic variants that modify the haemochromatosis phenotype.

The contribution of smoking to socio-economic differentials in mortality among Australian men

Investigator(s): Mohammad Siahpush*, Dallas English (*Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer)

Objective(s): To assess the contribution of smoking to educational differences in mortality among men in Australia.

Affect and anger control and risk of cancer

Investigator(s): Vicki White*, Ron Borland**, Graham Giles, Dallas English (* Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer **VicHealth Centre for Tobacco Control)

Objective(s): To determine whether emotional factors play a role in the development of specific cancers, especially breast cancer and prostate cancer.

Healthy ageing

Investigator(s): John McCallum**, Allison Hodge, Graham Giles, Dallas English, Leon Flicker*, John Hopper* (*External collaborators **Project leader)

Objective(s): To measure the effects of modifiable lifestyle factors on burden of disease and levels of health-related quality of life in a large and ethnically diverse cohort of older Australians.

Genetic polymorphisms and the risk of lung cancer

Investigator(s): Abramson M and Zhang B (Monash Univ.), English DR, Severi G

Objective(s): To investigate the association between lung cancer and genetic polymorphisms in tumour suppressor genes, DNA repair genes, and metabolic genes.

The effect of physical activity in preventing osteoarthritis

Investigator(s): Cicuttini F (Monash Univ), English DR, Giles GG

Objective(s): The main aim is to determine whether an increasing amount of physical activity is associated with an increase in the amount of knee cartilage volume after adjusting for differences in gender, age, body and bone size.

Helicobacter pylori infection and risk of gastric cancer

Investigator(s): Forman D*, Turner F*, Barrett J*, Giles G, English D, Gengos M*, Mitchell H* (* External collaborators)
Objective(s): To investigate the joint effects of helicobacter pylori infection, dietary history and genetic polymorphisms in the aetiology of gastric cancer.

The weight of modernity: mitigating obesity

Investigator(s): D Broom**, J Dixon*, C Banwell*, C Forth*, Graham Giles (* External collaborators ** Project leader)

Objective(s):

Investigate the reasons underlying changing food consumption and physical activity practices, by asking:

1a. How have key social trends contributed to changing patterns of food consumption and physical activity in Australia over the last 50 years?
1b. How have gendered and social positioned individuals experienced and responded to these key trends?
2. Analyse the reasons for the declining, but unequally distributed, rates of a related disease of modernity, coronary heart disease.
3. Synthesise the theoretical and empirical insights gained in 1) and 2) to inform the social changes needed to mitigate the rise in obesity and its unequal distribution.

Predictors of cardiovascular disease mortality in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study

Investigator(s): Kerin O'Dea*, Graham Giles, Allison Hodge, Andrew Sinclair*, Kevin Rowley*, David O'Neal*, Andrew Tonkin*, Dianna Magliano* (*External collaborators)

Objective(s): To examine the associations between cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease mortality, and dietary, anthropometric and other risk factors in The Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study.

Validation of cardiovascular disease risk prediction equations in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study

Investigator(s): Dianna Magliano, Sophie Rogers, Danny Liew, Kerin O' Dea and Andrew Tonkin (all external)

Objective(s): The objective of this project is to validate a series of risk prediction tools (Framingham, ERICA, MRFIT, and SCORE)-among contemporary Australians by assessing their predictive capacity for coronary and stroke mortality, using observed longitudinal data from the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study.

(APCSC) Asia Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration

Investigator(s): Australia - Graham Giles, Mark Woodward (External collaborator and Project Leader)

Objective(s):

To quantify associations between established risk factors and cardiovascular outcomes and possible heterogeneity in such associations between Australia/New Zealand and Asian populations in a very large pooled analysis of several cohort studies with relevant data.
To explore similar analysis for cancer outcomes.

Risk factors for age-related macular degeneration (AMD)

Investigator(s): Luba Robman*, Robyn Guymer*, Graham Giles, Dallas English (* External collaborators)

Objective(s):

To estimate the prevalence and severity of age related macular degeneration in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study.
To evaluate the association of age related macular degeneration with dietary intake of carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, family history, smoking based on baseline and follow up data.
To determine apoE genotype of the participants and estimate its effect on age related macular degeneration prevalence.
To assess epidemiological interaction between dietary carotenoids and apoE genotype as risk factors for AMD and to estimate whether the course of age related macular degeneration in people at higher risk could be modified through dietary intake of the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin.

Retinal arteriolar signs and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in an Australian cohort

Investigator(s): Tien Wong**, Andrew Tonkin*, Graham Giles, Dallas English (* External collaborators ** Project leader)

Objective(s): The aim is to characterise retinal arteriolar signs and examine their relationship to cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease mortality, in persons with and without diabetes and hypertension in 40,000 participants 50+ years of age returning for the 10-year examination of the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study.

Glutathione peroxidase 1 and cardiovascular events in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study

Investigator(s): Andrew Tonkin**, John McNeil*, Graham Giles (* External collaborators ** Project leader)

Objective(s): To investigate the role of the anti-oxidant enzyme, glutathione peroxidase 1 in the prevention of fatal atherosclerotic disease endpoints within the context of the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study.

A randomised trial assessing a shade development intervention in secondary schools for adolescent skin cancer prevention

Investigator(s): Dobbinson S*, Wakefield M*, English D, White V*, Livingston T*, Simpson J (* Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer)

Objective(s): To determine whether there is an increase in the number of students in intervention schools using areas under shade after construction of shade sails, compared with no change in control schools.

Melanoma diagnosis and the effect of screening on depth of invasion of melanoma

Investigator(s): Joanne Aitken*, Mark Elwood*, Dallas English (*External collaborators)

Objective(s): To assess the association between self-screening and screening by a doctor with thickness of melanoma at diagnosis and to describe modes of presentation, time course and process of diagnosis of melanoma in Queensland.

Kidskin

Investigator(s): Dallas English, Elizabeth Milne*, Donna Cross*, Billie Giles-Corti*, Robyn Johnston* (* External collaborators)

Objective(s): To design, implement and evaluate an intervention to reduce sun exposure in children in Western Australia.