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The Sister Study

The Center for Research on Minority Health (CRMH) in the Department of Health Disparities Research at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston has joined forces with a national breast cancer trial to encourage more minority women to participate in breast cancer research. At the center of this current effort is The Sister Study, a national trial that seeks to determine if environment and genes can affect a woman's chances of getting breast cancer. The Sister Study is open to all women, ages 35 to 74, who live in the United States or Puerto Rico who have had a sister or sisters who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The Sister Study is a nationwide research study, conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to learn how genes and the environment affect the chances of getting breast cancer. The study seeks 50,000 women whose sister had breast cancer to help find the causes of the disease. The researches can't do it without the participation of minority women.

To enroll, visit The Sister Study Web site or call toll free at 1-877-4SISTER
(1-877-474-7837) and reference M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Center for Research on Minority Health.

Eligible women must:

  • Have a sister (living or deceased), related to you by blood, having breast cancer
  • Be between the ages 35 and 74
  • Never had breast cancer
  • Live in the United States or Puerto Rico

Most of what researches know about breast cancer risk comes from studies of mostly white women and their results don't explain why some risks seem to be different for African-American, Latina and Asian women. Overall, black women are more likely to develop the disease at a younger age, have higher death rates due to the disease and often have more aggressive tumors. The real question is why?

The Sister Study has made participation as convenient as possible. "At the beginning, women will answer some over-the-phone and written surveys and provide blood, urine, household dust and toenail samples," said Dr. Dale Sandler, principal investigator of The Sister Study. "After that, for about 10 years, we'll touch base once a year to learn about changes to their address, health or environment." She added, “The Sister Study does not require participants to take any medicine, undergo any medical treatments or make any changes to their habits, diet or daily life.” The Sister Study follows sound, ethical research practices, gives frequent study updates to participants and keeps all personal data private and confidential. The researchers for the study are primarily women.

How can you help? If eligible, you can join The Sister Study or simply spread the word to other women about the study.


© 2009 The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center