[Genome-cohort studies for the development of personalized cancer prevention programs in Japan]

One of the most important roles of molecular epidemiology is to investigate gene-environment interactions in order to provide data for personalized risk modification. A case-control study conducted in Aichi showed that an aldehyde dehydrogenase- 2(ALDH2)polymorphism together with cigarette smoking significantly affects the risk of lung cancer. The main purpose of this large-scale genome-cohort study of healthy individuals is to confirm that these factors are associated with the development of diseases and to set optimal thresholds for the environmental factors. The Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort(J-MICC)Study was launched in 2005. It has recruited 100,600 healthy participants up to the end of 2014, and plans to follow them until 2025. Although Japanese genome-cohort studies, including the J-MICC Study, the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective(JPHC)Study, and the Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization Study, consist of different research teams with different financial resources, collaboration to standardize the data collection format for successful pooled analysis is being discussed.