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CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY
 SINGAPORE CANCER REGISTRY
THE SINGAPORE CHINESE HEALTH STUDY
GENES AND ENVIRONMENT IN LUNG CANCER (GEL) IN SINGAPORE CHINESE WOMEN
THE SINGAPORE LYMPHOMA STUDY |
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SINGAPORE CANCER REGISTRY
Staff members of the Department serve in the Singapore Cancer Registry. The Registry publishes a five-yearly monograph on cancer trends in Singapore.
Several descriptive studies in collaboration with the Registry have also been published. These include papers on patterns in the incidence of locally significant cancers such as colon/rectum, skin and breast. Recent publications have documented survival among patients with cancer in Singapore. A couple of international comparative studies on second primary cancers undertaken in collaboration with other cancer registries have been published.
Contact: Prof Chia Kee Seng 
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Recent publications:
Maule, M., G. Scelo, et al. (2008). "Risk of second malignant neoplasms after childhood central nervous system malignant tumours: an international study." Eur J Cancer 44(6): 830-9.
Scelo, G., P. Boffetta, et al. (2007). "Second primary cancers in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a pooled analysis of 13 cancer registries." Cancer Causes Control 18(3): 269-78.
Scelo, G., P. Boffetta, et al. (2006). "Associations between small intestine cancer and other primary cancers: an international population-based study." Int J Cancer 118(1): 189-96.
Chuang, S. C., M. Hashibe, et al. (2008). "Risk of second primary cancer among esophageal cancer patients: a pooled analysis of 13 cancer registries." Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 17(6): 1543-9.
Shen, M., P. Boffetta, et al. (2006). "A pooled analysis of second primary pancreatic cancer." Am J Epidemiol 163(6): 502-11.
Seow A, Koh WP, Chia KS, Shi LM, Lee HP, Shanmugaratnam K. Trends in Cancer Incidence in Singapore 1968 – 2002. Singapore Cancer Registry Report No. 6, 2004.
Scelo G, Boffetta P, Corbex M, Chia KS, Hemminki K, Friis S, Pukkala E, Weiderpass E, McBride ML, Tracey E, Brewster DH, Pompe-Kirn V, Kliewer EV, Tonita JM, Martos C, Jonasson JG, Brennan P. Second primary cancers in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a pooled analysis of 13 cancer registries. Cancer Causes Control. 2007 Jan 19; [Epub ahead of print]
Fernandes ML, Seow A, Chan YH, Ho KY. Opposing trends in incidence of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma in a multi-ethnic Asian country. Am J Gastroenterol. 2006 Jul;101(7):1430-6.
Sandeep TC, Strachan MW, Reynolds RM, Brewster DH, Scelo G, Pukkala E, Hemminki K, Anderson A, Tracey E, Friis S, McBride ML, Kee-Seng C, Pompe-Kirn V, Kliewer EV, Tonita JM, Jonasson JG, Martos C, Boffetta P, Brennan P. Second primary cancers in thyroid cancer patients: a multinational record linkage study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006 May;91(5):1819-25. Epub 2006 Feb 14.
Chia KS, Reilly M, Tan CS, Lee J, Pawitan Y, Adami HO, Hall P, Mow B. Profound changes in breast cancer incidence may reflect changes into a Westernized lifestyle: a comparative population-based study in Singapore and Sweden. Int J Cancer. 2005 Jan 10;113(2):302-6.
Lee J, Chia KS, Cheung KH, Chia SE, Lee HP. Birthweight and the risk of early childhood cancer among Chinese in Singapore. Int J Cancer. 2004 Jun 20;110(3):465-7.
Wang H, Seow A, Lee HP. Trends in cancer incidence among Singapore Malays: a low-risk population. Ann Acad Med Singapore. 2004 Jan;33(1):57-62.
Du W, Mah JT, Lee J, Sankila R, Sankaranarayanan R, Chia KS. Incidence and survival of mucinous adenocarcinoma of the colorectum: a population-based study from an Asian country. Dis Colon Rectum. 2004 Jan;47(1):78-85.
Chia KS, Du WB, Sankaranarayanan R, Sankila R, Wang H, Lee J, Seow A, Lee HP. Do younger female breast cancer patients have a poorer prognosis? Results from a population-based survival analysis. Int J Cancer. 2004 Feb 20;108(5):761-5.
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THE SINGAPORE CHINESE HEALTH STUDY
Study Team:
Investigators: |
A/Prof Koh Woon Puay |
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Professor Lee Hin Peng |
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Professor Mimi Yu (USA) |
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A/Prof Yuan Jian-Min (USA) |
| Research Staff : |
Ms Low Siew Hong |
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Ms Ho Pui Tong |
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Ms Xue Wan Qin |
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Ms Yap Soh Kim |
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Ms Kyreen Lee |
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| Staff of The Singapore Chinese Health
Study (from left to right) Ms Kyreen Lee, Mdm Xue Wanqin,
A/P Koh Woon Puay, Prof Lee Hin Peng, Mdm Low Siew Hong, Mdm
Ho Pui Tong, Mdm Chris Yap |
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The Singapore Chinese Health Study is a collaborative research project between the Department and several research institutes in USA, including the Cancer Center in the University of Minnesota, the Keck School of Medicine in the University of Southern California and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in USA. The main objective is to establish a stable cohort for long-term study of dietary and other environmental determinants of chronic diseases in the adult population. The study was established between 1993 and 1998 by the recruitment of a residential cohort of roughly 63,000 Chinese men and women, who were aged 45-74 years, into the study. It has been supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute, USA since 1993. The main objective is to establish a stable cohort for long-term study of dietary, genetic and environmental determinants of cancer, and understand how these factors can play an etiological or protective role on the incidence of cancer. One of the major strengths of the Study is its ability to examine potential cancer-protective dietary factors that are rarely consumed among the well-studied occidental populations. The information we can obtain from our studies, given the distinct genetic and lifestyle factors of our cohort members compared with other populations, will not only help us better understand the mechanisms of tumor development, but should also aid in developing prevention strategies. At present, we have made several noteworthy and novel scientific contributions of reports, including protective roles of fish, soy, cruciferous vegetables and tea in cancer, which have been presented in leading international conferences and top cancer journals.
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The scope of study using this Cohort has recently been expanded
to other under-studied areas in Chinese populations: namely
nonmalignant respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (PI Dr. Stephanie London,
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH,
DHHS, USA), cardiovascular diseases (PI Prof. Ong Choon
Nam, Dept of EPH, NUS) and chronic neurological diseases
such as Parkinson’s Disease (Dr Louis Tan, National
Neuroscience Institute).
The Ministry of Health regards the Study as a significant undertaking in the field of epidemiology locally, and is actively collaborating with and supporting the Study.
Our second telephone follow-up interview was launched in July 2006 to update information on exposures such as smoking and use of hormone replacement. The plan is to re-contact all surviving subjects by the end of 2010 through a team of trained interviewers.
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Our staff member interviewing study
participants over the phone |
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The publications from the cohort from January 2007 to June 2008 are:
1. Wu AH, Wang R, Koh WP, Stanczyk FC, Lee HP, Yu MC. Sleep duration, melatonin and breast cancer among Chinese women in Singapore. Carcinogenesis 2008.
2. Wong HL, Koh WP, Probst-Hensch NM, Van Den Berg D, Yu MC, Ingles SA. Insulin-like Growth Factor1 promoter polymorphisms and colorectal cancer: a functional genomics approach. Gut 2008.
3. Koh WP, Yuan JM, Wang R, Seow A, Lee HP, Yu MC. Chronic rhinosinusitis and risk of lung cancer in the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Int J Cancer 2008.
4. Tsong WH, Koh WP, Yuan JM, Wang R, Sun CL, Yu MC. Cigarettes and alcohol in relation to colorectal cancer: the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Br J Cancer 2007;96:821-7.
5. Tan LC, Koh WP, Yuan JM, Wang R, Au WL, Tan JH, Tan EK, Yu MC. Differential Effects of Black versus Green Tea on Risk of Parkinson's Disease in the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Am J Epidemiol 2007.
6. Sun CL, Yuan JM, Koh WP, Lee HP, Yu MC. Green tea and black tea consumption in relation to colorectal cancer risk: the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Carcinogenesis 2007;28:2143-8.
7. Stern MC, Conti DV, Siegmund KD, Corral R, Yuan JM, Koh WP, Yu MC. DNA Repair Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Colorectal Cancer and their Role as Modifiers of the Effect of Cigarette Smoking and Alcohol in the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16:2363-72.
8. Shankar A, Yuan JM, Koh WP, Lee HP, Yu MC. Morbidity and mortality in relation to smoking among women and men of Chinese ethnicity: The Singapore Chinese Health Study. Eur J Cancer 2007.
9. Friborg JT, Yuan JM, Wang R, Koh WP, Lee HP, Yu MC. A prospective study of tobacco and alcohol use as risk factors for pharyngeal carcinomas in Singapore Chinese. Cancer 2007;109:1183-91.
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GENES AND ENVIRONMENT IN LUNG CANCER (GEL) IN SINGAPORE CHINESE WOMEN
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Current epidemiologic research in cancer focuses on the environmental and genetic factors influencing risk of lung cancer among Chinese women, a population known to have high rates of the disease despite a low prevalence of smoking. To date, this project has reported on the role of diet, reproductive history and exposure to cooking fumes, as well as the interaction of these factors with polymorphisms in genes modulating metabolic pathways for potential carcinogens. The field work of GEL1 began in April 1996 to Sept 1998, and GEL2 started from May 2005 and completed in Jan 2008. Our objective is to explore new risk factors relating to inflammation and the role of estrogen-related pathways.
Contact: A/Prof Adeline Seow |
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Selected Publications:
Lee KM, Kang D, Clapper ML, Ingelman-Sundberg M, Ono-Kihara M, Kiyohara C, Min S, Lan Q, Le Marchand L, Lin P, Lung ML, Pinarbasi H, Pisani P, Srivatanakul P, Seow A, Sugimura H, Tokudome S, Yokota J and Taioli E. CYP1A1, GSTM1, and GSTT1 polymorphisms, smoking, and lung cancer risk in a pooled analysis among Asian populations. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention. 2008 May; 17(5): p1120-6.
Raimondi S, Paracchini V, Autrup H, Barros-Dios JM, Benhamou S, Boffetta P, Cote ML, Dialyna IA, Dolzan V, Filiberti R, Garte S, Hirvonen A, Husgafvel-Pursiainen K, Imyanitov EN, Kalina I, Kang D, Kiyohara C, Kohno T, Kremers P, Lan Q, London S, Povey AC, Rannug A, Reszka E, Risch A, Romkes M, Schneider J,
Seow A, Shields PG, Sobti RC, Sørensen M, Spinola M, Spitz MR, Strange RC, Stücker I, Sugimura H, To-Figueras J, Tokudome S, Yang P, Yuan JM, Warholm M and Taioli E. Meta- and pooled analysis of GSTT1 and lung cancer: a HuGE-GSEC review. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2006 Dec; 164(11): p1027-1042.
Seow A, Ng DP, Choo S, Eng P, Poh WT, Teh M, Wang YT. Joint effect of asthma/atopy and an IL-6 gene polymorphism on lung cancer risk among lifetime non-smoking Chinese women. Carcinogenesis. 2006 Jun; 27(6): p1240-1244.
Ng DP, Tan KW, Zhao B, Seow A. CYP1A1 polymorphisms and risk of lung cancer in non-smoking Chinese women: influence of environmental tobacco smoke exposure and GSTM1/T1 genetic variation. Cancer Causes and Control. 2005 May; 16(4): p399-405.
Koh WP, Chow VT, Phoon MC, Ramachandran N and Seow A. Lack of association between chronic Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection and lung cancer among nonsmoking Chinese women in Singapore. International Journal of Cancer. 2005 Apr; 114(3): p502-504.
Tan YK, Wee TC, Koh WP, Wang YT, Eng P, Tan WC and Seow A. Survival among Chinese women with lung cancer in Singapore: a comparison by stage, histology and smoking status. Lung Cancer. 2003 Jun; 40(3): p237-246.
Seow A, Poh WT, Teh M, Eng P, Wang YT, Tan WC, Chia KS, Yu MC and Lee HP. Diet, reproductive factors and lung cancer risk among Chinese women in Singapore: Evidence for a protective effect of soy in non-smokers. International Journal of Cancer. 2002 Jan; 97(3): p365-371.
Zhao B, Seow A, Lee EJ, Poh WT, Teh M, Eng P, Wang YT, Tan WC, Yu MC and Lee HP. Dietary isothiocyanates, glutathione S-transferase-M1, -T1 polymorphisms and lung cancer risk among Chinese women in Singapore. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention. 2001 Oct; 10(10): p1063-1067.
Seow A, Zhao B, Lee EJ, Poh WT, Teh M, Eng P, Wang WT, Tan WC and Lee HP. Cytochrome P4501A2 (CYP1A2) activity and lung cancer risk: A preliminary study among Chinese women in Singapore. Carcinogenesis. 2001 Apr; 22(4): p673-677.
Seow A, Poh WT, Teh M, Eng P, Wang YT, Tan WC, Yu MC and Lee HP. Fumes from meat cooking and lung cancer risk in Chinese women. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention. 2000 Nov; 9(11): p1215-1221.
Zhao B, Seow A, Lee EJ and Lee HP. Correlation between acetylation phenotype and genotype in Chinese women. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 2000 Dec; 56(9-10): p689-692.
Seow A, Zhao B, Poh WT, Teh M, Eng P, Wang YT, Tan WC, Lee EJ and Lee HP. NAT2 slow acetylator genotype is associated with increased risk of lung cancer among non-smoking Chinese women in Singapore. Carcinogenesis. 1999 Sep; 20(9): p1877-1881.
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THE SINGAPORE LYMPHOMA STUDY |
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Singapore has a rapidly rising incidence of lymphoid malignancies. A multi-disciplinary consortium is currently conducting a study which aims to (1) evaluate the role of environmental/lifestyle factors and genetic susceptibility in this group of diseases, and (2) establish and follow-up a prospective patient series which will allow us to describe and compare outcomes in relation to clinical features, histological subtype and immunological phenotype. The study is funded by the Biomedical Research Council of Singapore for five years from February 2005, and the recruitment of cases and controls will be completed in December 2008. |
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Contact: A/Prof Adeline Seow (Principal Investigator)
Or Ms Wong Kin Yoke (Project manager)
Abstract presented in conference:
Wong KY, Chia SE, Kuperan P, Lee KM, Lim ST, Loong S, Mow B, Ng SB, Tan L, Tan SH, Tao M, Wong GC and Seow A. Malignant lymphomas in an Asian population : Characteristics of cases and distribution of histological subtypes in the Singapore Lymphoma Study. (Abstract no #07-AB-4833-AACR, poster #63) 98th AACR Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, CA. April 14-18, 2007
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