The Hereditary Cancer Core provides Siteman Cancer Center members with expertise and support services to address and overcome barriers to cancer genetics research. Cancer genetics research is often difficult because of the general lack of participation from families with a history of cancer and fear of genetic research, inadequate clinical data for high-risk families, and difficulties in the recruitment of ethnically diverse populations. The Hereditary Cancer Core is organized to provide a broad range of services: . Project Management and Coordination of Study Participant Recruitment . Liaison with the Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) Human Studies Committee . Design and Implementation of Cancer Genetics Research . Clinical Risk Assessment and Genetic Counseling . Medical Record Collection Service In addition, the core has recently launched a project referred to as the Cancer Free Controls Initiative, a St. Louis community based project to collect 2,000 blood samples with linked health and family history information from individuals 65 years of age and older who have no history of cancer. DNA and serum samples will be used in cancer case-control studies. The core is responsible for participant recruitment, specimen and data collection, and database management. Mark Watson, Director of the Tissue Procurement Core, processes the samples for genetic and protein studies. Samples will be made available to SCC investigators with approved cancer research protocols.
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