Approved Research

Combining genetic, environmental and clinical information to predict the risk of gastrointestinal cancer

Lay summary

1. Aims: We aim to construct gastrointestinal cancer risk models with both genetic and non-genetic information.
2. Scientific rationale: Gastrointestinal (GI) cancer is a major cause of mortality and accounts for 3.6 million deaths globally every year. The patients often have a poor prognosis due to the lack of effective strategies directed at early detection. Therefore, improvement of survival is heavily reliant on the development of innovative early detection. However, this population lacks recommendations for early detection and screening. Gastrointestinal cancer is a multifactorial disease, and both environmental and genetic factors play a role in its etiology. Previous risk prediction models often apply established environmental and behavioral risk factors to estimate individual risk. Recently, several studies have included genetic risk factors and non-genetic factors to assess cancer risk more accurately. However, the value of combining genetic and non-genetic factors to predict the risk of gastrointestinal cancer has not been fully explored.
3. Project duration: Three years will be needed to complete this project.
4. Public health: The project is expected to quantify the importance of genetic and non-genetic factors in the individual cancer risk prediction. The findings will improve our understanding of cancer risk assessment model construction and therefore guide us to identify high-risk individuals more accurately. This research will also make important contribution to the guidance of personalized prevention of gastrointestinal cancer by Identifying people who would benefit from secondary screening.