Publications

These publications are examples of research made possible with data from CanPath and its regional cohorts.

2023

Mental health, cancer risk, and the mediating role of lifestyle factors in the CARTaGENE cohort study

Authors: Kaitlyn Gilham, Anne Gadermann, Trevor Dummer, Rachel A Murphy

This study investigates the associations between depression, anxiety, and cancer risk and the mediating effects of lifestyle. Using data from 34,571 CARTaGENE participants, researchers found positive links between mental health disorders, all cancers, and lung cancer risk, except for anxiety and lung cancer in women, where associations were lower when adjusting for sociodemographics, health and lifestyle. The study also found that smoking affected the relationship between mental health disorders and cancer risk. Overall, the study suggests that lifestyle factors, like smoking, may be important in understanding the relationship between mental health and cancer risk.

Read Publication
2023

Examining the influence of built environment on sleep disruption

Authors: Jaclyn Parks, Millie Baghela, Parveen Bhatti

Researchers sought to understand if modifying aspects of the built environment improved sleep. Using data from 28,385 BC Generations Project participants, they found that increased light-at-night, air pollution (SO2), and living <100 m from a main roadway were associated with insufficient sleep. Greenness had a positive effect on sleep.

Read Publication
2022

Dietary Intake and the Neighbourhood Environment in the BC Generations Project

Authors: Rachel A. Murphy, Gabriela Kuczynski, Parveen Bhatti, Trevor J. B. Dummer

This study examined how neighbourhood factors like access to amenities and social relationships, as well as greenness and walkability, can influence fruit and vegetable intake. ~28,000 participants from the BC Generations Project were involved. Those living in neighbourhoods with greater material and social deprivation were less likely to meet recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption, while those living in neighbourhoods with higher greenness were more likely to meet recommendations. These findings highlight how multiple neighbourhood characteristics can impact dietary intake.

Read Publication
2022

Harnessing the power of data linkage to enrich the cancer research ecosystem in Canada

Authors: Robin Urquhart, Philip Awadalla, Parveen Bhatti, Trevor Dummer, Simon Gravel, Jennifer Vena, Riaz Alvi, Philippe Broet, Cynthia Kendell, Victoria Kirsh, Guillaume Lettre, Kimberly Skead, Grace Shen-Tu, Ellen Sweeney, Donna Turner

This abstract discusses a project aimed at linking cancer registry and administrative health data to Canada’s largest population health study, the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath). The project seeks to enrich the cancer research ecosystem in Canada by providing researchers with a comprehensive dataset that includes genetics, environment, lifestyle, and behaviour data. The linked data will be made available through a cloud-based solution called the CanPath Data Safe Haven, which is accessible to researchers through secure access. The project will address concerns related to the accessibility of cancer data in Canada, bring more value to existing data, and support an enhanced understanding of the impacts of cancer on marginalized populations.

Read Publication
2022

Arsenic Speciation and Metallomics Profiling of Human Toenails as a Biomarker to Assess Prostate Cancer Cases: Atlantic PATH Cohort Study

Authors: Erin Keltie, Kalli M Hood, Yunsong Cui, Ellen Sweeney, Gabriela Ilie, Anil Adisesh, Trevor Dummer, Veni Bharti, Jong Sung Kim

This study aimed to characterize arsenic species and metallome profiles in toenails and urine samples, compare these profiles between prostate cancer cases and controls, and evaluate the utility of toenail and urine biomarkers. Toenails were found to be viable biomarkers for altered arsenic speciation in prostate cancer cases.

Read Publication
2022

Pre-diagnosis lifestyle, health history and psychosocial factors associated with stage at breast cancer diagnosis – Potential targets to shift stage earlier

Authors: Qinggang Wang, Michelle L. Aktary, John J. Spinelli, Lorraine Shack, Paula J.Robson, Karen A. Kopciuk

This study aimed to examine associations between risk factors for breast cancer diagnosis, prior to and and at diagnosis. Some protective factors include older age at diagnosis, high household income, parity, smoking, spending time in the sun (high ultraviolet), having a mammogram, and high daily protein intake. Factors that increase risk of later stage at diagnosis include comorbidities, stressful situations, and high daily caloric intake.

Read Publication
2022

Lifestyle factors and lung cancer risk among never smokers in the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath)

Authors: Rachel Murphy, Maryam Darvishian, Jia Qi, Yixian Chen, Quincy Chu, Jennifer Vena, Trevor J B Dummer, Nhu Le, Ellen Sweeney, Vanessa DeClercq, Scott A Grandy, Melanie R Keats, Yunsong Cui, Philip Awadalla, Darren R Brenner, Parveen Bhatti

Data from 950 CanPath participants were analyzed to understand why 15-25% of lung cancers occur in never smokers. Researchers found a link between lung cancer risk, sleep, and fruit and vegetable intake amongst never smokers.

Read Publication
2022

The BC Generations Project as a Tumor Tissue Resource for Cancer Research

Authors: Umaimah Zanif, Jessica Chu, Jonathan Simkin, Trevor Dummer, Ryan Woods, Eric Belanger, Parveen Bhatti

BCGP is making significant strides in its utility as a high-quality tumor tissue research resource. The BC Cancer Registry recently implemented a text mining solution to allow BCGP to capture pathology reports for 100% of all newly diagnosed BCGP cancer cases!

Read Publication
2022

Evaluation of Adiposity and Cognitive Function in Adults

Authors: Sonia S. Anand, Matthias G. Friedrich, Douglas S. Lee, Phillip Awadalla, J. P. Després, Dipika Desai, Russell J. de Souza, Trevor Dummer, Grace Parraga, Eric Larose, Scott A. Lear, Koon K. Teo, Paul Poirier, Karleen M. Schulze, Dorota Szczesniak, Jean-Claude Tardif, Jennifer Vena, Katarzyna Zatonska, Salim Yusuf, Eric E. Smith, the Canadian Alliance of Healthy Hearts and Minds (CAHHM), the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) Study Investigators

Researchers sought to undercover the association between adipose tissue (amount and distribution) and cognitive scores. Using data from 9,189 participants, they found that higher visceral adipose tissue and body fat percentage correlated with increased vascular brain injuries and cardiovascular risk factors, as well as lower cognitive scores.

Read Publication
2022

Patterns and determinants of adherence to colorectal cancer primary and secondary prevention recommendations in the BC Generations Project

Authors: Molly Sweeney-Magee, Carolyn Gotay, Mohammad Ehsanul Karim, Jennifer Telford, Trevor Dummer

Researchers assessed how 26,074 BCGP participants adhere to cancer prevention recommendations. They found that adherence to some behaviours was high, but clusters of poorer adherence were also highlighted. They suggested future work to evaluate targeted interventions to maximize adherence amongst lower socioeconomic status and health groups.

Read Publication