With five months left to find additional participants, the Sister Study a study of environmental and genetic risk factors for breast cancer, which aims to determine the cause of breast cancer and its effects on women of different ethnicities, is almost 11,000 women short of its recruitment goal, the Detroit Free Press reports.
The study, which is being conducted by NHI's Environmental Health Sciences-- seeks to recruit 50,000 U.S. women between ages 35 and 74, particularly minorities, those who work in nontraditional and industrial occupations, and those who are older than 55. Previous breast cancer studies have focused on primarily white, middle-class women, but researchers are uncertain if breast cancer risk factors among white women and other women are the same, Lisa DeRoo, an NIH researcher, said.
Researchers from the Sister Study are seeking black, Hispanic, Asian and American Indian women who have never been diagnosed with cancer but have a blood-related sister who has. Participants must commit to diagnostic tests, questionnaires and annual follow-up interviews over 10 years (Kaiser Health Disparities Report, 1/8).
Minority women make up 12% of the 39,000 enrolled, and researchers have recruited, 2,531 African American women, 1300 Hispanic/Latinas, 463 American Indians and 335 Asian.
Recruiters look at cancer registries and contact cancer organizations and sororities by mail to find participants. Cultural and language barriers often hinder recruitment, the Free Press reports.
DeRoo said that researchers "really want the study to be representative of the women in the United States," adding, "We do know that the incidence of the disease and survival rates vary from group to group. ... Part of the reason why it's so important to recruit a diverse group of women is that we want the results to benefit the different women across the United States"
If you join the Sister Study, you will get a Sister Study Kit through the mail. The Kit contains study information, questionnaires, and material to use when collecting urine, toenail, and household dust samples. They will ask you to complete several study requirements in the weeks immediately following your enrollment. They will then ask you to complete a set of follow-up requirements over the next 10 years.
So far there are 39,176 women enrolled in this study nationwide and only 270 are from Utah.
More information about the Sister Study:
http://www.sisterstudy.org/English/index1.htm (English)
http://www.sisterstudy.org/spanish/index1_spa.htm (Spanish)
