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Other Studies

1-Cancer projects in the Tromsø Study

The Tromsø study is a unique study, with a high attendance rate (65-85%) and adherence in the four last repeated surveys (Tromsø 4-Tromsø 7; 1994-2016) and has resulted in numerous publications and doctoral theses. In 2015, members of our research group initiated clinical cancer projects based on participants in the Tromsø Study diagnosed with breast cancer and prostate cancer, aiming to study associations between pre- and post-diagnostic characteristics collected in the Tromsø Study (e.g. inflammation), and development and prognosis of breast and prostate cancer.

The Energy Balance and Breast Cancer Aspects throughout life (EBBA - life study) is part of the Tromsø study, which include 19 416 healthy women of whom 949 women (end of follow-up Dec 2021) have been diagnosed with breast cancer since 1995. The Prostate Cancer throughout life (PROCA-life study) include 16 960 men of whom 904 men developed PCa during 15 years of follow-up. For all these cancer cases, detailed histopathological and clinical medical records were obtained. So far, publications from EBBA-life and PROCA-life have been included in three doctoral theses, and currently three PhD students are engaged in this work. International collaboration with researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (Professor Edward Giovannucci) and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Professor Anne McTiernan) is highly appreciated in these studies.

Selected Publications:

  • Lofterod T, Mortensen ES, Nalwoga H, McTiernan A, …, Thune I. Impact of pre-diagnostic triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol on breast cancer recurrence and survival by breast cancer subtypes. BMC Cancer. 2018;18(1):654. DOI

  • Stikbakke E, Richardsen E, ..., Haugnes HS, Thune I. Inflammatory serum markers and risk and severity of prostate cancer. The PROCA-life Study. Int J Cancer 2020, 147:84-92. DOI

  • Stibakke E, Schirmer H, Knutsen T, …,Haugnes HS, Richardsen E, Thune I. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, prostate cancer risk, treatment and survival. The PROCA-life Study. Cancer Medicine 2022, 11:1005-1015. DOI

Members:

Inger Thune (Principal Investigator)

Hege S Haugnes (Co-principal investigator)

Egil Blix (Co-principal investigator)

Elin Richardsen

Martin Støyten

Endre Gabrielsen

Financial/grant application:

Helse Nord RHF

2. Clinical trials

In addition to being PIs in several cancer studies, members of our research group serve as local PIs in national and international clinical cancer trials, where most common malignancies are represented. We participate in national precision medicine clinical cancer studies as IMPRESS and MATRIX and take part in several palliative care studies (e.g., Parastop, Pallion and the Brain Metastasis Study) related to the PRC (European Palliative Care Research Centre).

Link IMPRESS: https://impress-norway.no/en/impress-norway-front-page/

Link MATRIX: https://www.matrix-fkb.no/en/home

Link PRC: https://www.oslo-universitetssykehus.no/avdelinger/kreftklinikken/avdeling-for-kreftbehandling/prc