Nordic biological specimen banks as basis for studies of cancer causes and control – more than 2 million sample donors, 25 million person years and 100 000 prospective cancers

Figures & data

Figure 1.  Map of Nordic countries indicating the coverage areas of the serum banks.

Table I.  Characteristics of the serum banks included in the Nordic Biological Specimen Banks for Cancer Causes and Control (NBSBCCC) network. Status as of June 2005. Type: R = random sample of population or other systematic invitation based on population register; S = specific group with clearly defined enrolment criteria; C = Clinical samples.

Name, country [contact address]	Type	Years of first serum donation and subsequent samples of same individuals	Number of persons [+annual increase]	Number of sampling occasions [+annual increase]	Closing year in this study (complete cancer incidence & vital status)	Number of person-years
Finnish Maternity Cohort [[e-mail]]	S	1983 (continues) [samples from 1997+ not included in the present analyses]	723 000 women (Aug 2005) [+30 000 /year]	1.47 million [+ 60 000/year]	2003	6.69 million
Helsinki Heart Study, Finland [[e-mail]]	S	1980–1982	19 000 men	117 000	2003	390 000
Alpha-Tocopherol-Beta-Carotene (ATBC) Study, Finland [[e-mail]]	S	baseline sera 1984–1988, follow-up sera from all 1986–1993, annual sera from 800 men	29 133 male smokers	55 000	2003	393 000
Finnish Mobile Clinic Health Examination Survey [[e-mail]]	R	1966–1976	50 448	60 000	2003	1.36 million
FINRISK, Finland [[e-mail]]	R	1992/1997/2002 (samples from years 1972/1977/1982/1987 incomplete)	22 910	22 910	2003	143 000
Icelandic Maternity Cohort [[e-mail]; Arthur Löve]	S	1980 +	47 820 women [+1,700/year]	91 000 [+2,500/year]	2002	618 000
Reykjavik Study, Icelandic Heart Association [[e-mail]]	R	1967–1996	19 300	60 000	2002	423 000
Janus, Norway [[e-mail]]		1972–2005	331 801	493 400	2001
* Health examinations	R	1972–1978, 1980–1992 (last samples from Finmark and Troms counties in 2002)	304 342	376 600	2001	5.23 million
* Blood donors	S	1973–1991, 1998–2000 (last samples 2005)	31 922	116 800	2001	693 000
Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study (NSHDS) [[e-mail] ]	R	1985 +	86 000	114 000	2003
* VIP	R	1985 +	70 000 [+2000/year]	83 000	2003	560 000
* MONICA	R	(1986)/ 1990/ 1994 / 1999/ 2004	9 000	14 000	2003	51 000
* Mammography	R	1995 +	27 500 women [+1500/year]	48 000	2003	158 000
Northern Sweden Maternity Cohort (NSMC) [[e-mail]]	S	1975 +	86 000 women [+2000/year]	118 000 samples	2003	1.24 million
Preventive Medicine in Malmö (PMM), Sweden [[e-mail]]	R	1974–1991	33 000	8 000	1999	560 000
Malmö Diet and Cancer, Sweden [[e-mail]]	R	1991–1996	29 098	–	1999	159 000
Malmö Microbiology, Sweden [[e-mail]]		1986+ (incomplete 1969 + )	454 000 [+40 000/year]	1.24 million [+120 000/year]	1999	1.84 million
* Malmö Maternity Cohort	S	1985, 1989+ (incomplete 1969 + )	70 000 women	115 000	1999
* Bloodborne virus screening	C	1986 +			1999
* Other virus testing	C	1990 +			1999
Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control (SIIDC) [[e-mail]]		1957+ (complete 1977 + )	358 000 in computerised files	>900 000 (629 000 computerised)	–	–
* Population sample	R	1968, 1977–1978, 1990–1991, 1997	12 045	12 000	–	–
* Diagnostic microbiological testing	C	1990 +		617 000 computerised	–	–

Table II.  Numbers of observed (O) and expected (E) cancer cases diagnosed by 31 December 2001 among the participants of the population health examinations in Norway who donated sample to the Janus biobank. Expected numbers based on national population; standardised incidence ratios (SIR = O/E) given with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

ICD-7	Cancer site	O	E	SIR	95% CI
140–207	All malignant neoplasms	21 890	24 087	0.91	0.90–0.92
140	Lip	98	109	0.90	0.73–1.09
143–144	Oral cavity	121	144	0.84	0.70–1.00
145–148	Pharynx	131	169	0.77	0.65–0.92
150	Oesophagus	156	189	0.83	0.70–0.97
151	Stomach	709	702	1.01	0.94–1.09
153	Colon	1868	1914	0.98	0.93–1.02
154	Rectum, rectosigma	1041	1092	0.95	0.90–1.01
155	Primary liver	81	106	0.77	0.61–0.95
155.1	Gall-bladder, biliary tract	96	105	0.91	0.74–1.11
157	Pancreas	524	530	0.99	0.91–1.08
161	Larynx	187	203	0.92	0.79–1.06
162–163	Lung	2178	2516	0.87	0.83–0.90
170	Breast	3364	3666	0.92	0.89–0.95
171	Cervix uteri	440	536	0.82	0.75–0.90
172	Corpus uteri	673	679	0.99	0.92–1.07
177	Prostate	2197	2266	0.97	0.93–1.01
178	Testis	181	192	0.94	0.81–1.09
180	Kidney	671	723	0.93	0.86–1.00
190	Melanoma of the skin	1454	1536	0.95	0.90–1.00
193	Brain and nervous system	804	898	0.90	0.83–0.96
194	Thyroid	291	266	1.09	0.97–1.23

Figure 2.  Standardised incidence ratios (SIR) of selected cancers among the 19 000 Finnish men in Helsinki Heart Study, and the 29 000 men in Alpha-Tocopherol-Beta-Carotene (ATBC) Study, with 95% confidence interval bars.

Figure 3.  Annual numbers of registered cancer cases among subjects in the Nordic biobanks diagnosed after serum donation, by region. The numbers refer to cancer update status in Spring 2005, when coverage was complete only until 31 December 1999.

Table III.  Numbers of cancer cases registered among serum donors after donation to the Nordic Biological Specimen Banks for Cancer Causes and Control (NBSBCCC) according to the latest cancer registry linkages, by cancer site and serum bank.

Figure 4.  Numbers of registered cancer cases among subjects in the Nordic biobanks diagnosed after serum donation, by sex, age and type of biobank.