The primary objectives of this Master Agreement Order is to (1) study the temporal relationships of genetic alterations to determine whether they can serve as intermediate endpoints for early detection of cancer, (2) develop methodology to detect genetic alterations that correlate with the earliest stages of tumor progression, (3) quantify oncogenes, RNA or protein products to measure their level of activity that could serve as markers for detecting cancer or high-risk groups, and (4) study chromosomal abnormalities including deletions, duplications, translocations, and point mutations in the context of early detection. An example of such studies would be to explore whether or not molecular alterations including but not limited to genetic, biochemical, histologic, and cytologic, which accumulate during the adenoma-adenocarcinoma cascade in colorectum are also identifiable in other tumors. This important finding could provide tools for early detection, or primary prevention.
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