The ColoCare Study: A Paradigm of Transdisciplinary Science in Colorectal Cancer Outcomes

Abstract

Background: Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer death. Biomarkers to predict treatment outcomes are needed, as is evidence whether postdiagnosis diet and lifestyle can affect well-being and clinical outcomes. The international ColoCare Consortium aims to identify new biologic markers (e.g., metabolomic, transcriptomic, metagenomic, genetic, epigenetic, proteomic markers) that predict clinical outcomes, and to characterize associations between modifiable risk factors (e.g., diet, supplement use, physical activity) with shortterm and long-term patient-reported and clinical outcomes among patients with colorectal cancer. Methods/Results: ColoCare is recruiting newly diagnosed patients with colorectal cancer across six sites in the United States and one site in Germany. As of April 2018, we have recruited >2,000 patients across all sites. Our projected enrollment is >4,000 multiethnic patients with colorectal cancer. The study includes uniformly collected, comprehensive sets of data and biospecimens at multiple time points up to 5 years after diagnosis. Treatment and clinical data are abstracted from medical records and centrally harmonized. Biospecimens are archived according to standardized procedures. Our initial studies demonstrated metabolic differences in adipose tissue types. We further reported on associations of biological factors (e.g., inflammation, DNA methylation, metabolomics) with lifestyle factors (e.g., adiposity, smoking, physical activity, dietary supplement use) or joint associations with clinical outcomes. Conclusions: ColoCare is a consortium for the investigation of multilevel factors relevant to colorectal cancer survivorship. Impact: The combination of a comprehensive set of biospecimens collected at multiple time points, jointly with detailed assessments of health behaviors and other prognostic factors, results in a unique resource that facilitates wide-ranging, innovative, and impactful research on colorectal cancer.

One-carbon metabolites, B vitamins and associations with systemic inflammation and angiogenesis biomarkers among colorectal cancer patients: results from the ColoCare Study

“…This is a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the ColoCare Study, a multicentre, international prospective cohort initiated at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Seattle, WA, USA), described in detail in prior publications (21)(22)(23) . ColoCare recruits newly diagnosed CRC patients prior to surgery, with the goal to investigate predictors of cancer recurrence, survival, treatment toxicities and health-related QoL.…”

Circulating Folate and Folic Acid Concentrations: Associations With Colorectal Cancer Recurrence and Survival

“…A total of 2024 stage I-III colorectal cancer patients from 6 patient cohorts were included in the current study as part of the international, prospective FOCUS consortium. The FOCUS consortium comprises patients from the COLON study (n = 1094, Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands) (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03191110) ( 32 ), the EnCoRe study (n = 297, Maastricht University, the Netherlands) ( 33 ) (Netherlands Trial Register: 7099), the CORSA study (n = 209, Medical University of Vienna, Austria), and 3 sites of the ColoCare study (n = 260, University of Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center and National Center for Tumor Diseases, Germany; n = 46, Huntsman Cancer Institute, United States; and n = 118, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, United States) (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02328677) ( 34 ). Clinical, demographic, and lifestyle-related characteristics were collected for all participants and harmonized across all cohorts within the FOCUS consortium.…”

Inflammation‐ and angiogenesis‐related biomarkers are correlated with cancer‐related fatigue in colorectal cancer patients: Results from the ColoCare Study

“…The present study is conducted as part of the prospective ColoCare study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02328677), an international cohort of newly diagnosed stage I–IV colorectal cancer patients (ICD‐10 C18–C20) (Ulrich et al, ). The ColoCare Study is a multicentre initiative of interdisciplinary research on colorectal cancer outcomes and prognosis and comprises patients recruited at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle (Washington, USA), the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg (Germany), the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa (Florida, USA), the Cedars‐Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles (CA, USA), the St. Louis University Cancer Center, St. Louis (MO, USA) and the Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City (Utah, USA).…”