Next week, the American Cancer Society will begin enrolling Carroll County residents in a historic cancer prevention study.
The third of its kind, Cancer Prevention Study 3, or CPS-3, is a national study attempting to identify factors that either contribute to, or inhibit the formation of cancers by following participants over a number of decades, according to Jen Burdette, the community manager for the South Atlantic Division of the American Cancer Society.
"We are trying to better understand genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors that either cause or prevent cancer," Burdette said.
To that end, the American Cancer society is looking for men and women between the ages of 30 and 65, who have never been diagnosed with cancer, with the exception of those who have had basal or squamous cell skin cancer, according to Burdette.
Study participants will complete an initial medical history and lifestyle survey, give a blood sample and a waist measurement, Burdette said, after which participation will consist purely of filling out a survey every two years for 20 to 30 years.
"They never have to come in for an in-person appointment again," Burdette said.
The American Cancer Society has a nationwide goal of 300,000 participants for CPS-3, Burdette said, and they presently have around 185,000 registered to enroll or actively enrolled.
"In Carroll County our goal is 425 individuals and we have about 200 appointments made. We are still in need for people to spread the word," Burdette said.
To help spread the word about CPS-3, the American Cancer Society began recruiting Champions this past January, volunteers, many of whom were cancer survivors, who could talk to people in the community about the study and get them interested in participating.
Kathy Martin, of Eldersburg, is a breast cancer survivor, and is therefore ineligible to participate in CPS-3 directly. Instead, she became a Champion, spreading the news through Facebook, word of mouth and by providing flyers about the study to local businesses.
"I think that it's not very often that people have an opportunity to directly influence the knowledge about cancer prevention as well as what is know about things that cause cancer. I think it's a unique, almost once in a lifetime opportunity," Martin said.
The previous American Cancer Society studies have uncovered historic findings about the nature of cancer, according to Vivienne Stearns-Elliott, regional director of marketing communications for the South Atlantic Division of the American Cancer Society.
CPS-1 began in the 1950s and discovered the link between smoking and cancer, while CPS-2, which was started in the 1980s and is still ongoing, uncovered the connection between diabetes and pancreatic cancer, Stearns-Elliott said.
Dr. Lauren Teras is a senior epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society Research Program, and she said that CPS-3 aims to focus on factors for cancer risk that are more prevalent in the current generation, such as obesity and inactivity.
"Work from our Cancer Prevention Study-2 showed the strong link between obesity and a higher risk of several different cancers. However, the prevalence of obesity has changed tremendously since our last study ... so one question for this generation is, 'what is the impact on cancer risk of being overweight or obese for a large part of your life?'" Teras said.
Teras said that the research will also look at the effects of sitting for long periods, genetic factors, and where people live in relation to their jobs, parks and restaurants, to see how all these factors affect cancer risk.
"The beauty of studies like this is that we are poised to study so many different things, and over time, as we continue to collect more information from participants, the richness of the study grows," Teras said.
The American Cancer Society takes participant confidentiality seriously and will take steps to ensure the privacy of medical data, Teras said.
"We maintain the confidentiality of our study volunteers by assigning a numeric identification code to each participant and then removing all other identifiers [e.g., name, social security number] from research files," Teras said.
Those interested in participating in CPS-3 should first go to http://www.CPS3CarrollCounty.org and register, according to Burdett.
"Though we can take walk-ins, we are encouraging appointments so that we know how many folks to expect. When they make the appointment, they will receive a confirmation email with a link to their first survey that they can take online," Burdette said.
Appointments are scheduled at one of the enrollment centers throughout the county, according to Burdette, and will only take 20 to 30 minutes.
Carroll County enrollment will begin at M&T Bank, 1001 Twin Arch Road in Mount Airy, with appointments available between 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on March 12.
The next dates will be as follows: the Four Seasons Sports Complex, 2710 Hampstead Mexico Road in Hampstead, between 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on March 13; the Merritt Athletic Club, 1388 Progress Way in Eldersburg, between 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on March 14; and at Carroll Hospital Center, The Women's Place, 291 Stoner Avenue in Westminster between 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. on March 15 and between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on March 16.
Prospective study participants can make an appointment for whatever enrollment location will best fit their schedule, even locations outside of Carroll County, according to Burdette.
"There will be enrollment events in Frederick County the following week as well," Burdette said.
