News Release

National Cancer Institute to support statewide UNC-CH colon cancer study

Grant and Award Announcement

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

CHAPEL HILL - The National Cancer Institute has awarded $1.5 million to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers who are trying to prevent and detect earlier an illness once called "the cancer nobody talks about."

The grant was one of six given nationally from about 70 proposals from various U.S. research groups responding to an institute request for studies of health communication and cancer control.

"We're looking at how best to communicate with people about colon cancer so that they will adopt healthier lifestyles by improving their diets, increasing their exercise and seeking regular medical screening," said Dr. Marci K. Campbell, project principal investigator. "Research has shown that better diets and exercise may lower the risk of the colon cancer and that regular screening could save many lives."

Campbell, assistant professor of nutrition at the UNC-CH schools of public health and medicine, said the project will examine strategies for persuading both colon cancer survivors and others not yet affected to change their behaviors. She and most of her colleagues are members of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Others involved in the project will be Drs. Robert Sandler, professor of medicine and co-principal investigator; Brenda M. DeVellis, professor health behavior and health education; Sharon C. Murray, research assistant professor of medicine; Sally C. Stearns, associate professor of health policy and health administration; and Boyd R. Switzer, associate professor of nutrition.

The new project will piggyback on the North Carolina Colon Cancer Study, which Sandler already has started, Campbell said. Investigators are interviewing people in 33 N.C. counties and taking blood samples to examine behavioral and genetic factors that boost the colon cancer risk.

"Dr. Sandler's sample is especially good because it is a well-balanced, racially diverse group of both men and women, some of whom already have had colon cancer and some of whom have not," she said.

DeVellis, a psychologist, will help develop telephone counseling and printed materials such as personalized newsletters. Stearns, an economist, will determine the cost effectiveness of telephone counseling versus printed materials.

Murray will serve as biostatistician. Switzer will study "biomarkers" - elements in blood that should reveal whether people have switched to diets containing more fruits and vegetables that are less conducive to colon cancer.

Earlier studies have shown that U.S. residents whose diets are high in fruits and vegetables may face only half the risk of colon cancer as others whose diets are low in those foods, Campbell said. Diets high in fat and those that include a lot of meat -- especially grilled meats - appear to boost the risk of colon cancer, research indicates.

Many volunteers for Sandler's study already have shown interest participating in the new work as well, Campbell said. They will be randomly assigned to four groups getting both telephone counseling and personalized newsletters about colon cancer, either one or the other or neither.

Toward the end of the study, investigators will re-interview all 800 participants and take a blood sample from half of them to determine whether they've altered their diets and how effective researchers' efforts have been, she said. If the work goes well, the National Cancer Institute might adopt comparable educational programs on a far larger scale.

"Others have calculated that with screening, treatment and lifestyle changes, 80 percent to 90 percent of colon cancer deaths could be avoided," Campbell said. "That's a lot of people because colon cancer is, overall, the second leading cause of cancer deaths among Americans."

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Note: Campbell can be reached at 919-966-7230.


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