- Environmental exposures and oesophageal cancer incidence on the island of Ireland: identifying novel prevention opportunities.
Prof. Helen Coleman
AllCaN Oesophageal Co-Lead & Principal Investigator
Dr Dan Middleton
AllCaN Oesophageal Principal Investigator
Ms Rachel McMenemy
AllCaN Oesophageal MPH Candidate
- September 2024 (1 year)
Project Overview
Environmental exposures and oesophageal cancer incidence on the island of Ireland: identifying novel prevention opportunities: We will explore the geospatial incidence of oesophageal cancer alongside environmental exposures such as drinking water quality, deprivation and urban environment as part of a supported MSc project supervised by Dr Dan Middleton. Cases will be identified using cancer registry data which will be combined, by postcode, to underlying available environmental maps. Comparisons will be made to suitable population-based controls, retrieved from the Northern Ireland Cohort of Longitudinal Ageing (NICOLA), and will be matched by sex and age. An important branch of cancer surveillance is the analysis of spatial trends in cancer incidence as investigations of geographical patterns of disease can drive hypothesis generation regarding possible environmental risk factors, informing new prevention opportunities.
Anticipated impact of this AllCaN Oesophageal research project
This project has the potential to drive hypothesis generation through addressing critical knowledge gaps in the relationship between environmental exposures and oesophageal cancer incidence in Ireland and lead to identifying prevention opportunities of avenues of further investigation, particularly if clusters of incidence are evident. Support for early career research development will be realised through the MSc.