The objective of this contract is to support a prospective epidemiological study of cancer among farmers and their dependents. The study will establish a large cohort to be followed prospectively for 10 years or more to obtain detailed information on agricultural exposures, diet, cooking practices, and other factors of etiologic interest for cancer and other diseases. The cohort will include men and women who are either farm owners/operators, their spouses and dependents, or commercial or non-commercial pesticide applicators. The purpose of this contract is to establish a Coordinating Center for this study, which will be responsible for scheduling, monitoring and integrating the work of other contractors (referred to as Field Stations) funded under separate contracts. This five-year study is being conducted by the Environmental Epidemiology Branch (EEB), Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program (EBP), Division of Cancer Etiology (DCE), National Cancer Institute (NCI) to explain why farmers experience an excess of several cancers.
