From 2008 through 2012, 300,000 Canadian adults from all walks of life will give their health information and biological samples to help create a research resource that will support Canadian health research over the next 25 years.
This massive national initiative, known as the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow, has been granted $42 million from the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) to complete this work. CPAC is funded by Health Canada to coordinate national efforts to find the causes of cancer and other chronic diseases and reduce the number of cases.
In many cases, the known risk factors for cancer and other chronic diseases (such as heart disease or diabetes) are similar. By following a large group of people over a long period of time (known as a prospective cohort), this initiative will help researchers learn much more about how environment, lifestyle and genes contribute to both cancer and chronic diseases.
There are five jurisdictions currently involved in this project: British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. While each regional project may be slightly different, the jurisdictions have worked together to ensure consistency, quality and security in their data and specimen collection procedures. By combining datasets collected across the country, researchers can more easily analyze disease patterns, even with relatively rare cancers that affect few people.
In British Columbia, this initiative is known as the BC Generations Project, sponsored by the BC Cancer Agency. The BC Generations Project seeks to recruit 40,000 residents aged 40-69.
The BC Generations Project is now in its second phase of recruitment. To join the Project, participants no longer need to visit a special assessment clinic to provide their information and biological samples. Instead, they will receive a package in the mail containing everything they need in order to join. This will make it easier for volunteers throughout BC to join the Project.
Age is the only criteria for participation. Participants will answer questionnaires regarding their health, diet and lifestyle, as well as their medical and family history. They will record their height and body measurements using the tape measure provided in their package, and they will record their weight. They will also be asked to provide blood and urine samples at a LifeLabs location in their community. This baseline information will then be linked to provincial health records in an anonymized format. The sum of this information will provide the basis for answering important research questions on how lifestyle, genes and the environment contribute to chronic diseases. Of particular interest to BC researchers is the role of environmental exposures in disease risk.
For more information, read the BC Generations Project Protocol.
