A Case-Referent Study of Brain Tumors in Adults

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Total Enrollment

1581 participants

Study Classification

OBSERVATIONAL

Study Start Date

1994-08-19

Study Completion Date

2018-02-26

Brief Summary

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The etiology of brain tumors is poorly understood. Due, in part, to public concern about a postulated relationship between the use of cellular telephones or other increasingly prevalent environmental exposures and the incidence of brain cancer in adults, the National Cancer Institute is collaborating with three U.S. hospitals in a comprehensive case-control study of malignant and benign brain tumors. Factors under consideration include use of cellular phones and other wireless communication devices, workplace exposures to chemical agents and electromagnetic fields, dietary factors, family history of tumors, genetic determinants of susceptibility, home appliance use, reproductive history and hormonal exposures, viruses, medical and dental exposure to ionizing radiation, and other aspects of medical history.

Approximately 800 newly diagnosed brain tumor cases and 800 controls have been enrolled at hospitals in Boston, Phoenix and Pittsburgh. Cases include all adults (age greater than or equal to 18 years) newly diagnosed with a histologically confirmed intracranial glioma, intracranial meningioma or acoustic neuroma. Controls are patients admitted to the same hospitals as the cases, and treated for any of a variety of non-malignant conditions. Participating cases and controls were interviewed in the hospital by a research nurse and asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire and donate a sample of blood. Key features of the study include its large size, the emphasis on rapid ascertainment of incident cases and interview of study subjects rather than surrogate respondents, the use of detailed, job-specific questions developed by industrial hygienists to ascertain occupational exposures, and the storage of blood samples for future evaluation of inherited susceptibility, biomarkers of exposure and gene-environment interactions.

Implementation of the study protocol proceeded without serious problems. There have been no harmful effects on study participants. There have been no complaints from participants or breaches of confidentiality. Continuation of this research involves analysis and reporting of results. As there will be many papers, this process is expected to extend over the next several years.

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Detailed Description

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The etiology of brain tumors is poorly understood. Due, in part, to public concern about a postulated relationship between the use of cellular telephones or other increasingly prevalent environmental exposures and the incidence of brain cancer in adults. The National Cancer Institute is collaborating with three US hospitals in a comprehensive case-control study of malignant and benign brain tumors. Factors under consideration include the use of cellular phones and other wireless communication devices, workplace exposures to chemical agents and electromagnetic fields, dietary factors, family history of tumors, genetic determinants of susceptibility, home appliance use, reproductive history and hormonal exposures, viruses, medical and dental exposures to ionizing radiation, and other aspects of medical history.

Approximately 800 newly diagnosed brain tumor cases and 800 controls have been enrolled at hospitals in Boston, Phoenix, and Pittsburgh. Cases include all adults (age age greater than or equal to 18 years) newly diagnosed with a histologically confirmed intracranial giloma, intracranial meningioma or acoustic neuroma. Controls are patients admitted to the same hospitals as the cases, and treated for any of a variety of non-malignant conditions. Participating cases and controls were interviewed in the hospital by a research nurse and asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire and donate a sample of blood. Key features of the study include its large size, the emphasis on rapid ascertainment of incident cases and interview of study subjects rather than surrogate respondents, the use of detailed, job-specific questions developed by industrial hygienists to ascertain occupational exposures and gene-environment interactions.

Implementation of the study protocol proceeded without serious problems. There have been no harmful effects on study participants. There have been no complaints from participants or breaches of confidentiality. Continuation of this research involves analysis and reporting of results. Numerous publications have resulted from the study and analyses are ongoing.

Conditions

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Brain Tumors

Study Design

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Observational Model Type

CASE_CONTROL

Study Time Perspective

RETROSPECTIVE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

Age greater than or equal to 18 years.

Subjects with malignant and benign adult brain tumors from hospitals in Boston, Phoenix and Pittsburgh.

Patients admitted to the same hospitals as the cases, and treated for any of a variety of non-malignant conditions.

Exclusion Criteria

Reasons for exclusion of cases included absense of histologic confirmation or ineligible diagnosis (e.g., schwannoma of facial or trigeminal nerve rather than of acoustic nerve).

Controls were excluded if cancer was responsible for the hospital admission.

Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

90 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No