50,000 Sisters of Women With Breast Cancer Being Recruited for Study

Recruitment of 50,000 sisters of women with breast cancer is underway for a unique study aimed at better understanding the causes of breast cancer.

Sisters of women with breast cancer are at a greater risk of developing the disease. By following this new study group, researchers are hoping to find the reason for the increased risk.

Researchers are looking nationwide for women volunteers, ages 35 to 74, for the "Sister Study."

The first phase of recruiting will take place in Tampa, Florida, followed by Phoenix, St. Louis, and Providence. The four cities were chosen for their size, geographic, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity. The initial recruiting goal for the four cities is 2,000 participants over the next six to nine months.

"Our recruiting plan includes working with breast cancer advocacy and support groups to spread the word about the Sister Study and our need for 50,000 women participants," said Dale Sandler, PhD, acting chief of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Epidemiology Branch and principal investigator in the study.

"Breast cancer advocates, in fact, will be the backbone of the study. We're asking them to register the Sister Study with volunteer centers, service clubs like Rotary and Junior League, public libraries, city search Web sites, and all breast cancer directories and hotlines," Sandler said.

Researchers would like the sisters to be within the same age range and to have been exposed to many of the same environmental factors during early childhood and even later in life.

Researchers will collect biological and environmental samples including blood, urine, toenail clippings and household dust. Questionnaires will also be used to gather data about health histories, environmental exposures, and lifestyles. Participants will then answer a questionnaire each year for the next ten years.

For more information about the Sister Study, visit www.sisterstudy.org or call 1-877-474-7837.

Other sources: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences