PRECAMA: Molecular Subtypes of Premenopausal Breast Cancer in Latin American Women (PRECAMA)

Molecular Subtypes of Premenopausal Breast Cancer in Latin American Women (PRECAMA): a Multicenter Population-based Case-control Study

Breast cancer has become a major public health problem in Latin America, as it is the most common form of cancer among women. Women are more likely to develop breast cancer at younger age, and to be diagnosed at an advanced stage compared to western women. Over the past twenty years, the mortality from breast cancer in Latin America has also been increasing very rapidly, and is currently the leading cause of cancer mortality. Little is known on specific risk factors for premenopausal breast cancer in general, and in Latin America in particular. There is a lack of specific knowledge on tumor molecular and pathological characteristics of breast cancer in Latin America premenopausal women, and this has major consequences on cancer treatment and survival.

To improve our understanding on determinants of breast cancer incidence and mortality in young Latin America women and support preventive actions, we implemented an international, population-based multi-center study in Latin America: the PRECAMA study (Molecular Subtypes of Premenopausal Breast Cancer in Latin American Women (PRECAMA): a multicenter population-based case-control study).

PRECAMA is coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and is conducted within 4 Latin American countries: Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia and Chile. Major aims of the project are the following:

1. To develop a multi-centric population-based case-control study on breast cancer in premenopausal women in several countries in Latin America with structured collection of individual, clinical, pathological information and biological specimens, according to strictly controlled protocols
2. To characterize, in these populations, the subtypes of premenopausal breast cancer on the basis of their molecular and pathological phenotypes
3. To improve the identification of specific endogenous/exogenous factors, and disentangle the interplay of these different factors with regard to breast tumor subtypes.
4. Provide advanced training, induce a structuring effect on the breast cancer research community in Latin America and influence the public health agenda regarding the management of breast cancer.

The results of our study will be of utmost importance to understand the etiology of breast cancer in Latin America countries, and would provide important information on the role of modifiable exposures for breast cancer prevention.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Breast Cancer Female
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: lifestyle

Detailed Description

Breast cancer (BC) has become a major public health problem in Latin America (LA), as it is the most common form of cancer among women. In Women are more likely to develop BC at younger age, and to be diagnosed at an advanced stage compared to western women. Over the past twenty years, the mortality from BC in LA has also been increasing very rapidly, and is currently the leading cause of cancer mortality among LA women. The large number of incident BC cases among premenopausal women, which is only partly explained by the population age-structure, is therefore of major concern. Little is known on specific risk factors for premenopausal BC in general, and in LA in particular, and risk factors related to diet, obesity and low physical activity play a role on incidence and mortality. Estrogen receptor (ER) and/or Progesterone receptor (PR) expression in breast tumors may differ according to risk factors and to molecular pathological characteristics. There is a lack of specific knowledge on tumor molecular and pathological characteristics of BC in premenopausal women, particularly in lower resource countries where the hormone-dependence status is poorly documented. This has major consequences on cancer treatment and survival.

To improve our understanding of determinants of BC incidence and mortality in young Latin America women and support preventive actions, we implemented an international, population-based multi-center case-control study in LA: the PRECAMA study (Molecular Subtypes of Premenopausal Breast Cancer in Latin American Women (PRECAMA): a multicenter population-based case-control study).

PRECAMA is coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and is conducted within 4 Latin American countries: Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia and Chile. Major aims of the project are the following:

1. To develop a multi-centric population-based case-control study on BC in premenopausal women in several countries in LA with structured collection of individual, clinical, pathological information and biological specimens, according to strictly controlled protocols
2. To characterize, in these populations, the subtypes of premenopausal BC on the basis of their molecular and pathological phenotypes
3. To improve the identification of specific endogenous/exogenous factors, and disentangle the interplay of these different factors with regard to breast tumor subtypes.
4. Provide advanced training, induce a structuring effect on the BC research community in LA and influence the public health agenda regarding the management of BC.

Standardized methods and questionnaires have been developed and implemented as well as standard operating procedures for laboratory activities. Incident primary invasive cases aged 20-45 years are recruited from major cancer hospitals in four large Latin American cities (Mexico City, San Jose, Medellin, and Santiago) prior to any treatments. Controls for the study are selected from the population residing in the same cities for at least 3 years and matched to cases on age (+/- 5 years) and health care institution. For each subject, complete questionnaire data on socio-demographic factors, health history, reproductive history, use of hormones, early risk factors, body silhouette at different ages, physical activity, diet, occupation, environmental risk factors, ethnicity, and family history of cancer are collected. Validated and standardized food frequency questionnaires are administered to gather information on diet. Anthropometry (body weight, standing and sitting height, waist and hip circumferences) are measured according to standardized protocols. Blood and urine samples are also collected for biomarker analyses. For all cases, highly standardized immunohistochemical and molecular analyses are performed to identify BC subtypes.

The results of our study will be of utmost importance to understand the etiology of breast cancer in Latin America countries in epidemiological transition, and would provide important information on the role of modifiable exposures on the disease which may provide important support for breast cancer prevention.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 3000

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Sabina Rinaldi, PhD; Phone Number: 8328 +33 472738485; Email: rinaldis@iarc.who.int

Study Locations

• Brazil
  • Barretos, Brazil
    • Completed
    • Barretos Cancer Hospital
• Chile
  • Independencia
    • Santiago, Independencia, Chile
      • Active, not recruiting
      • INC
  • Peñalolén
    • Santiago, Peñalolén, Chile
      • Active, not recruiting
      • Hso-Crsco
  • Providencia
    • Santiago, Providencia, Chile
      • Active, not recruiting
      • FALP
• Colombia
  • Barranquilla, Colombia
    • Completed
    • Facultad de Medicina, Universidad del Norte
  • Bucaramanga, Colombia
    • Recruiting
    • Hospital Internacional de Colombia Fundacion Cardiovascular de Colombia
    • Contact: Norma C Serrano
  • Bucaramanga, Colombia
    • Recruiting
    • International Hospital of Colombia
    • Contact: Ana I Orduz
  • Bucaramanga, Colombia
    • Recruiting
    • SENOSAMA foundation
    • Contact: Claudia Amaya
  • Cali, Colombia
    • Completed
    • Instituto de Oncología HematoOncologos
  • Pasto, Colombia
    • Recruiting
    • Public Health University of Narino
    • Contact: Alvaro Paz
  • Antioquia
    • Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia, 050010
      • Recruiting
      • Grupo Infección y Cáncer. Universidad de Antioquia
      • Contact: Gloria Sanchez, MSc, PhD; Phone Number: +57 3014201831; Email: gloria.sanchez@udea.edu.co
      • Contact: Maria Agudelo, MD; Phone Number: +57 3012974825; Email: ceci886@hotmail.com
• Costa Rica
  • San Jose
    • San José, San Jose, Costa Rica
      • Completed
      • Agencia Costarricense de Investigaciones Biomédicas (ACIB)
• Mexico
  • Morelos
    • Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, 69100
      • Completed
      • Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP)

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 20 years to 45 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Premenopausal Latin America women

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• woman between 20 and 45 years old
• woman less than 3 years older or younger than the case
• living in the area that the study is taking place during the past 3 years
• woman menstruated at least once in the past 12 months
• woman diagnosed with a primary breast cancer by histopathological examination (only for cases)

Exclusion Criteria:

• woman receiving tumor treatment, such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy or anti-estrogens (for example, tamoxifen) (except treatment for non-melanoma skin cancers)
• woman taking (or has previously taken) any of the following medications in the past 6 months: tamoxifen, Evista (raloxifene), Fareston (toremifene), Aromasin (exemestane), Femara (letrozole), Arimidez (anastrozole) or Megace (megestrol)
• woman suffering from chronic kidney failure
• woman having a pathology that will hinder adequate communication
• woman who is pregnant or nursing
• woman who has been previously diagnosed with a cancer(except for non-melanoma skin cancers)
• any other reason to exclude

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Controls; Women with no cancer recruited from the population residing in the same cities for at least 3 years and matched to cases on age (+/- 5 years) and health care institution. For each subject, complete questionnaire data on socio-demographic factors, health and reproductive history, early risk factors, physical activity, diet, occupation, environmental risk factors, ethnicity, and family history of cancer are collected. Validated and standardized food frequency questionnaires are administered to gather information on diet. Anthropometry is measured according to standardized protocols. Blood and urine samples are also collected for biomarker analyses.	Other: lifestyle; Observational study
Cases; Incident primary invasive breast cancer cases aged 20-45 years are recruited from major cancer hospitals in five Latin American cities (Barretos, Mexico City, San Jose, Medellin, and Santiago) prior to any treatments. For each subject, complete questionnaire data on socio-demographic factors, health and reproductive history, early risk factors, physical activity, diet, environmental risk factors, ethnicity, and family history of cancer are collected. Validated and standardized food frequency questionnaires are administered to gather information on diet. Anthropometry is measured according to standardized protocols. Blood and urine samples are also collected for biomarker analyses. Highly standardized immunohistochemical and molecular analyses are performed to identify cancer subtypes	Other: lifestyle; Observational study

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
breast cancer	breast cancer	at recruitment

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: International Agency for Research on Cancer
• Collaborators: Barretos Cancer Hospital; Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica, Mexico; University of Chile; Universidad de Antioquia; Fundación Inciensa
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sabina Rinaldi, PhD, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France; Principal Investigator: Maria Luisa Garmendia, PhD, INTA, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Principal Investigator: Carolina Porras, PhD, Proyecto Epidemiológico Guanacaste, Fundación INCIENSA, Costa Rica; Principal Investigator: Gabriela Torres-Mejía, PhD, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Mexico; Principal Investigator: Gloria I Sánchez, PhD, Grupo Infección y Cáncer, Universidad de Antioquía, Medellín, Colombia; Principal Investigator: Fabiana Vazquez, Barretos Cancer Hospital

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• Related Info

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 12, 2012
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 30, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 5, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 5, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): May 9, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 6, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 1, 2025
• Last Verified: May 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Skin Diseases; Breast Diseases; Breast Neoplasms
• Other Study ID Numbers: PRECAMA

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No