JanusRNA - identification of early cancer biomarkers

Cancer incidence and diagnosis

About 38 000 Norwegians are diagnosed with cancer annually and cancer is the leading cause of death overall in Norway. Breast and prostate cancer are the most common types of cancer in women and men respectively, followed by colorectal and lung cancer in both genders.

The survival of most cancers is highly dependent on the stage at diagnosis. Tools to detect cancer at an early stage and improve survival are of great importance. The overall aim of this project is to investigate microRNA (miRNA) and other circulating RNAs as potential early biomarkers for cancer.

RNA data

We have produced RNA sequencing data from pre-diagnostic serum samples from the Janus Serum Bank Cohort. We have included patients with cancer of the lung (n=404), colon (n=305) rectum (n=190), breast (n=205), prostate (n=326), ovaries (n=80), testis (n=80) and gallbladder (n=27) with a sample collected within 10 years prior to cancer diagnosis, and a large frequency matched control group of 673 cancer-free individuals up to 10 years after blood collection. In addition, we have produced data from endometrial cancer patents and matched controls (n=320/320).

The project is initiated and lead by the Cancer Registry of Norway and is performed in close collaboration with the Norwegian Sequencing Centre at Oslo University Hospital/University of Oslo. We have developed and optimized RNA sequencing method for samples with low input RNA.

The sequencing data is combined with detailed cancer information from the Cancer Registry of Norway and information on environmental exposures from health surveys, in advanced biocomputational analysis.

How to get access to data

In this project we have been collaborating closely with ELIXIR/NFEGA to develop FAIR data sharing mechanisms and we have established a Data Access Committee.

All research projects that includes information and/or biological material from Janus Serum Bank must comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This means that the processing must have approval from the Regional Committee for Medical Research in Norway (REC). Furthermore the processing needs legal basis according to GDPR Article 6 and 9. The applicant must have considered the need for a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) according to GDPR article 35. The applicant must prove that these requirements have been met before the data can be made available. Disclosure of information and/or biological material to countries outside the EU requires that the conditions in GDPR are met. For more information, please contact us at mirJanus@fhi.no.

To apply for access to published data from the JanusRNA study the applicant must fill out this form: 

• Data access application form

Funding

• The Research Council, The Cancer Society, The European Union

Collaborating partners

• Norwegian Sequencing Centre and University of Oslo
  Core Facility Leader, Robert Lyle, PhD
• Saarland University
  Chair of Clinical Bioinformatics, Andreas Keller, PhD
  Institute of Human Genetics, Eckart Meese, PhD
• Institute for Cancer research at Oslo University Hospital
  Institute for Tumor Biology and Research Group for Biomedical Informatics, Prof. Eivind Hovig, PhD
  Institute of Oncology Assoc. Prof Åslaug Helland, MD, PhD
• OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University
  Faculty of Health Sciences, Trine B. Haugen, PhD
• University in Heidelberg
  Medical Biometry, Prof. Justo Lorenzo Bermejo, PhD
• German Cancer Research Centre
  The Institution for Cancer Epidemiology, Prof. Rudolf Kaaks, PhD
  The Institution for Cancer Epidemiology, Renée Fortner, PhD
• Harvard Medical School
  Brigham And Women’s Hospital, Prof. Kevin Elias, MD
• Imperial College London, School of Public Health
  Chair of Environmental Epidemiology, Prof. Paolo Vineis, MD, MPH, FFPH
  Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Verena Züber, PhD
  Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Prof. Marc Chadeau-Hyam, PhD
• Universitet i Bergen
  Institute for Global Health and Community Medicine, Prof. Tone Bjørge, MD, PhD, Prof. Rolv Terje Lie, PhD

Contact information

• E-mail: mirJanus@fhi.no