Perception of Gene-Environment Cancer Risks in Melanoma

描述（由申请人提供）：这个职业发展申请的总体目标是启动一个关于基因环境癌症风险感知的独立研究计划。 越来越多的证据表明，常见的遗传多态性可以加重或减轻环境风险，如吸烟和阳光照射，这些相互作用是致癌的主要病因学途径。 在未来几年，越来越多的人可能会收到有关遗传和环境癌症风险因素的概率信息。 受影响的个体数量将超过那些不常见的，高度渗透的单基因突变。 针对那些具有单一风险因素（如单独的基因突变或单独的生活方式风险因素）的癌症风险沟通的现有研究，并不能充分解决我们对环境和遗传风险相互作用日益全面的理解所带来的潜在挑战和预防机会。 基因-环境相互作用与许多癌症部位的病因学有关。 由于基因-环境病因学的证据、不断上升的发病率和行为预防的前景，黑色素瘤将为这一应用的研究提供范例。 鉴于目前缺乏确定的生殖系突变，研究黑色素瘤患者的一级亲属将在拟议的研究中提供一种工具，以检查基因-环境风险感知以及皮肤癌筛查和防晒行为的作用。 研究一是一个定性访谈研究的风险认知之间的一级亲属的黑色素瘤患者。 研究II是对最近诊断的黑色素瘤患者的一级亲属的风险认知、皮肤癌筛查和防晒行为的前瞻性评估。 通过与多学科同事，正式的流行病学课程，教学和研究的密集互动，这个职业发展奖将建立我在遗传流行病学和行为科学界面的多学科研究技能，并使我能够建立新的理论和测量策略基因-环境相互作用的风险认知的作用，并最终开发出适用于其他癌症部位的基因-环境癌症风险沟通模型。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall goal of this career development application is to launch an independent research program on perception of gene-environment cancer risks. There is mounting evidence that common genetic polymorphisms can either accentuate or attenuate environmental risks, such as smoking and sun exposure, and that these interactions are a primary etiological pathway to carcinogenesis. In the coming years, it is likely that a growing number of individuals will receive probabilistic information concerning genetic and environmental cancer risk factors. The number of individuals who are affected will exceed those with uncommon, highly penetrant single-gene mutations. Existing research on cancer risk communication targeted to those with single risk factors, such as genetic mutations alone, or lifestyle risk factors alone, do not adequately address the potential challenges and prevention opportunities presented by our increasingly comprehensive understanding of environmental and genetic risk interactions. Gene-environment interactions are implicated in the etiology of a number cancer sites. Melanoma will provide the paradigm for study in this application because of the evidence for gene-environment etiology, rising incidence rates, and promise of behavioral prevention. Given the current absence of identified germ line mutations, studying first-degree relatives of melanoma patients will provide a vehicle in the proposed studies to examine the role of gene-environment risk perceptions and both skin cancer screening and sun protection behavior. Study I is a qualitative interview study of risk perceptions among first-degree relatives of melanoma patients. Study II is a prospective assessment of risk perceptions, skin cancer screening, and sun protection behaviors among first degree-relatives of recently diagnosed melanoma patients. Through intensive interaction with multidisciplinary colleagues, formal epidemiology coursework, teaching, and research, this career development award will establish my multidisciplinary research skills at the interface of genetic epidemiology and behavioral science, and position me to establish novel theory and measurement strategies for the role of risk perceptions of gene-environment interactions, and ultimately to develop communication models of gene-environment cancer risks which will be applicable to other cancer sites.