The CERC is a long-standing research unit comprised of epidemiologists, scientific and administrative support staff, data analysts, IT staff, project coordinators, interviewers, medical record abstractors, and trainees. Our research studies focus on identifying the causes of cancer, factors associated with survival, the effects of cancer and cancer treatment on quality of life and overall health and testing strategies for prevention.
Our studies include investigations of many different types of cancer including breast, prostate, colorectal, ovarian, endometrial, and testicular cancers; assessments of a wide variety of exposures including lifestyle, medical, genetic, and environmental factors; studies of pathogens and immune factors in relation to HPV-related cancers; and studies designed to improve and develop new epidemiology research methods. CERC activities have increasingly focused on survivorship research, including studies of cancer recurrence, second primary cancer, chemotherapy-related cardiotoxicity, and other long-term effects.
Our mission is to conduct research to improve knowledge about the causes of cancer, and its impact on the lives of those affected, in order to reduce cancer occurrence and suffering and to improve survival.
Projects
The Breast Cancer Risk And Various Outcomes (BRAVO) Study
Researchers are evaluating thousands of women, aged 20-69, who have experienced breast cancer. The goal is to identify specific characteristics or exposures that increase a woman’s risk of different types of breast cancer.
The Communicating Health Information and Improving Coordination with Primary Care (CHIIP) Study
Researchers have partnered with St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital to monitor Long-Term Follow-Up (LTFU) Study participants. They are evaluating the effects of cancer treatments on high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and high blood sugar levels. This study is funded by the US National Cancer Institute (NCI).
ColoCare Consortium
Partner institutions recruit colorectal cancer patients to provide blood, tissue, buccal and fecal samples, and complete health questionnaires. Hutch researchers use these samples to identify factors that determine both short-term and long-term survival among colorectal cancer patients.
The In-Situ Survivors Involved in Gaining Health Answers Together (INSIGHT) Study
Very little is known about which women with in-situ breast cancer have a greater risk of developing a second round of breast cancer. Researchers are looking for the possible causes in an effort to improve the health of all women with breast cancer.
The Outcomes and Risk Factors among Breast CAncer Survivors (ORCA) Study
Women with breast cancer are at a higher risk of developing a second form of cancer. With funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Hutch researchers are looking for the possible causes of these second cancers, to aid in diagnosis, prognosis treatment.
The Quilt Study
The relationship of certain exposures and patient characteristics with the risk of breast cancer recurrence is a relatively under-researched topic. Researchers are investigating these relationships to improve prognostication and their understanding of how these diseases progress. By identifying modifiable exposures, they give women better control over cancer outcomes.
The Seattle-area Hormone and Reproductive Epidemiology (SHARE) Breast Cancer Study
While risk factors for the more common types of breast cancer are reasonably well-established, much less is known about risk factors for less-common breast cancers. Researchers are determining which specific characteristics of exposures cause specific types of breast cancer.
The Study of mHealth Apps to Reduce cancer Treatment effects on the Heart (SmART Heart) Study
Leukemia, lymphoma and bone marrow transplant patients are at risk for developing heart problems. By analyzing heart health of survivors, researchers hope to improve the diagnosis and long-term outlook for high-risk patients.
The Vaccine to Interrupt Progression of Vulvar and Anal Neoplasia (VIVA) Trial
Researchers from both Fred Hutch the University of Washington are testing whether the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, can safely and effectively reduce the recurrence of anal and vulvar lesions.
The Women's Environment, Cancer and Radiation Epidemiology (WECARE) Study
Researchers established a repository of epidemiologic risk factor information and biologic specimens from women with both asynchronous bilateral breast cancer and unilateral breast cancer. They’re investigating genetic and environmental interactions that increase the risk of breast cancer.
Contact Us
The Cancer Epidemiology Research Cooperative is located at the Robert W. Day Campus in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle.
Mailing address:
Cancer Epidemiology Research Cooperative
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
1100 Fairview Ave N, M4-C308
Seattle WA 98109
Phone: 206.667.4630
Toll-free: 866.352.9525
Fax: 206.667.5948