NCI UNC Project ESCC

May 18, 2020 updated by: National Cancer Institute (NCI)

A Case-Control Study of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Lilongwe, Malawi

Background:

Esophageal cancer is a common cause of cancer deaths. Most cases of this cancer are esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Many of these cases come from two parts of the world with high-risk. One of these is in East Africa and include the country of Malawi. Researchers want to learn what factors explain the high risk there so we can understand better what causes this cancer in people everywhere.

Objective:

To learn more about causes and outcomes of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma using Malawi because of the large number of cases in that country.

Eligibility:

Adults at least 18 years old who have ESCC and live in a certain region of Malawi

Adults in the same age group and location who do not have ESCC

Design:

Participants will be screened at a hospital in Malawi.

Participants will have a 1-hour interview. They will answer questions about:

Demographics (age, ethnicity, education)

Place of residence

Medical history and family medical history

Drug, alcohol, and tobacco use

Hot beverage consumption

Indoor air pollution

Occupation

Food habits

Farming

Gastrointestinal health

Participants will have their teeth and fingernails examined.

Participants will be asked to give samples of blood, urine, saliva, toenails, and for the cancer cases, a small piece of their tumor.

Participants will have 4 phone calls a year for 2 years to ask about their health....

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Detailed Description

Background: Esophageal cancer causes an estimated 400,000 deaths per year and ranks as the sixth leading cause of cancer death worldwide, just after breast cancer. Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) accounts for 89% of all esophageal cancer cases worldwide and many of the cases originate in two high risk regions, one in Asia and the other in Africa.

Smoking tobacco and heavy alcohol consumption do not explain the incidence rates in the high-risk regions. It is therefore important to consider a wide range of etiologic factors to explain the high rates of cancer in these populations.

Malawi has the highest incidence rates of ESCC in Africa. Our previous studies in Kenya and preliminary studies in Malawi point to a number of potential ESCC risk factors.

Objectives: Our study aims to enhance our understanding of the causes and outcomes for ESCC in Malawi

Eligibility: All suspected ESCC cases will be eligible for enrollment.

Design: We will conduct a case-control study of ESCC jointly at Kamuzu Central Hospital and St. Gabriel s Hospital, recruiting 300 ESCC cases and 300 controls, to (1) evaluate exposures (including consumption of very hot beverages, use of firewood as fuel, tooth loss and animal exposure) which may influence risk of ESCC in Malawi and (2) collect biological samples to quantify exposures of interest (included in the current proposal) and to study the genetics and genomics of ESCC tumors (to be included in a future proposal).

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

648

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • Lilongwe, Malawi
        • Kazumu Central Hospital (KCH)
      • Namitete, Malawi
        • St Gabriel's Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 99 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

300 ESCC cases and 300 controls recruited from Kamuzu Central Hospital and St Gabriel s Hospital, Namitete (FWA: 00018517) which is 50 km from Kamuzu Central Hospital located in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Description

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:
  • All suspected ESCC cases will be eligible for enrollment.
  • All KCH and St Gabriel s patients greater than or eqaul to 18 years of age who are residents of the Central Region of Malawi and are diagnosed with histology-confirmed ESCC will be invited to participate as cases in the study.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

  • Patients <18 years old
  • Those living outside the Central Region, those who are medically unable to complete the study procedures (including questionnaire, biosample collection or endoscopy), and those who are unable to understand the study procedures or give informed consent.

While we do expect to see younger people with ESCC in Malawi (as we have seen in Kenya), cases under the age of 18 are rare: the field team would expect to see one or two a year. This estimate is in line with the cancer registry data from Malawi. Therefore, we will not enroll subjects younger than 18 years old.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Controls
ESCC Cases

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Time Frame: At diagnosis
Pathology confirmed from endoscopic biopsy
At diagnosis

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

August 1, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 15, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

May 15, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 30, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 30, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

July 2, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 20, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 18, 2020

Last Verified

May 1, 2020

More Information

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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