University of Alberta

Course Guide for SPH 561 Winter 2016 School of Public Health

Cancer Epidemiology Tuesday 9:30-10:20am ECHA L1 220

Instructor:

Teaching Assistants:

Faith G. Davis

N/A

Phone: (780) 492-1312 Email: [email protected] Office: 3-317 ECHA

Course Description [U of A Calendar]

An introduction to cancer epidemiology as a demonstration of the theory and practice of epidemiology with an emphasis on study design and etiology. Topics include the nature of cancer and its impact on study design, indices used to describe and measure cancer occurrence and outcome, interpretation and design of descriptive and analytic studies.

Learning Objectives

Reinforce and apply principles/methods from Epi596 within the context of a content area: cancer epidemiology Gain an understanding of how evidence is obtained and incorporated into consensus documents.

Competencies

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: To evaluate measures of exposure To describe, locate and interpret sources of cancer data, measures of cancer occurrence and survival rates. To describe and characterize the primary causes of cancer and how they vary within cancers Recognize how causal criteria are applied in specific settings.

Learning Resources

To access and use online resources to describe cancer patterns. IARC, NCI and SC websites. Textbook: Cancer Epidemiology: Principles and Methods. Edited by Dos Santos Silva 1999. Available online. Free download. A brief selection of relevant Journals: Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention Cancer Causes and Control Journal of the National Cancer Institute International Journal of Cancer

Course Format

This is a 13 week course (50 min class time per week). This course uses the following educational formats:  Readings  Discussion group learning  Individual problem based learning  Didactic lectures While classes are structured, the intent is to learn from each other’s experiences. You are encouraged to bring reading resources for the group. Course Materials

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Required textbook: Cancer Epidemiology: Principles and Methods by Isabel dos Santos Silva. Free download from IARC.fr Along with the text and other required readings, students are expected to read widely throughout the course. Additional resource materials are posted on the eclass website. Course structure Class work Classes will begin with a discussion reviewing the readings and topic of the session. Students are expected to come to class having read and reviewed all assigned materials and be ready to participate in the class. Depending on the topic a brief didactic presentation may follow to emphasize main issues. The remaining class time will focus on student questions to guide the independent assignments. Homework Homework assignments and their due dates will be posted on eclass, as outlined in the detailed course outline. Students will be expected to do the required readings ahead of the class in which they will be discussed, and homework assignments are due as indicated on the course outline. Homework assignments are designed to provide students with practice in applying the concepts learned in class within the field of cancer epidemiology.

Library

The University of Alberta library system’s website www.library.ualberta.ca details the range of services offered to students on and off campus. If you need further information or assistance, contact the Library's Electronic Reference Desk at www.library.ualberta.ca/ereference/index.cfm or call 1-800-2070172

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Course Evaluation Mid Point Evaluation:

Final Course Evaluation:

As is the case with all SPH instructors, I am interested in improving the course. I need to hear from you in order to do that well. I will gather feedback and recommendations from you at the mid-point of the course, by asking a student to administer and deliver an anonymous course evaluation back to the instructor(s). Following completion of the course, you will receive a standardized summative evaluation. Course evaluations will be done online by Test Scoring and Questionnaire Services. An invitation to participate in the survey is emailed to each student. One email will be sent for each start date, i.e., if a student has surveys with different start dates, they will receive multiple messages. Note that the message includes a login button.

Student Evaluation Assignment/Exams Assignment 1 see below Assignment 2 see below Assignment 3 see below Assignment 4 see below Participation

Percentage 10 10 15 40 25

Date January 26 March 1 March 15 April 5 Complete semester Week 10/11 – 5 percent each

Evaluation of Course Work Homework: 100 Midterm Exam: N/A Final Exam: N/A

Grading

See ‘Assignments and Marking Criteria’.

The readings from the textbook are primarily a review of the material covered in SPH596. Pay attention to those methods unique and commonly used in cancer epidemiology and to the cancer examples provided. These will be discussed in class and your participation will be included in that component of your grade. The following assignments will be graded for content and presentation to a scientific audience. Appropriate format and references will be included in the assessment. Evaluation will be on a scale of excellent, good, satisfactory and unacceptable (below). Assignment 1 Select an exposure of interest and briefly review and explain the options for measurement of this exposure in population studies. Discuss the pros and cons of each. (1-2 pages). Please provide appropriate references. SPH XXX [Year] Course Syllabus

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Assignment 2 Summarize the known and suspected risk factors for a selected cancer site. Feel free to use critical reviews available in the literature supplemented by newer studies as needed. Indicate the level of certainty and level of association for each risk factor (1-2 pages). Assignment 3 Discuss one relevant hypothesis for your cancer site that can be tested using the sources of data available (CCR, census, surveys – week 4) for your selected cancer site. Discuss what additional data elements would be optimal (and where it might be obtained) in addressing your question. (23 pages) Assignment 4 Provide a description of your selected cancer site using available resources (week 4) with respect to incidence, mortality and survival outcomes. Based on these patterns, exposures of interest and what you understand to be risk factors (cited from assignments 1, 2), where do you feel future research should focus and why? (oral and written)

University of Alberta Calendar Section 23.4 Regulations and Information for Students Evaluation Procedures and Grading System The University of Alberta Grading System The University of Alberta uses a letter grading system with a four-point scale of numerical equivalents for calculating grade point averages. Grades reflect judgments of student achievement made by instructors. These judgments are based on a combination of absolute achievement and relative performance in a class. Some instructors assign grades as intervals during the course and others assign marks (e.g. percentages) throughout the term and then assign a letter grade at the end. Instructors must adapt their approaches to reflect the letter grading system. Grade distribution should reflect those shown in this document. (EXEC 03 FEB 2003) Descriptor Excellent

Good Satisfactory Failure

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Grading in Graduate Courses Letter Grade Grade A+ A AB+ B BC+ C CD+ D F

Point Value 4.0 4.0 3.7 3.3 3.0 2.7 2.3 2.0 1.7 1.3 1.0 0.0

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Academic Integrity

Plagiarism is a serious offence. The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at www.ualberta.ca/CodeofStudentBehaviour) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University. University of Alberta policy about course outline can be found in Section 23.4(2) of the University Calendar. (GFC 29 SEP 2003)

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Schedule at a Glance Date Jan 5 Week 1

Topic Course Introduction and Overview

Assignment Chp 1 (11 pgs) Choose your cancer

Jan 12 Week 2

Measurement of Exposure

Jan 19 Week 3

Measures of occurrence of disease Advantage/disadvantage of using inc/mort data

Chp 2,3 (34 pages) (Appendix 2.2) Wild Choose your exposure Chp 4 (25 pages) App: Doll and Peto

Jan 26 Week 4

Data: IARC, SC and SEER – cancer registries

Feb 2 Week 5

The role and use of cancer registries Studies based on routine data

Feb 9 Week 6

Survival analysis and measurement of Outcomes Review and example

Bray 2014 CCS2014 Assignment 1 Chp 11 (30 pages) Chapter 17 (20 pgs) Chp 12 (15 pages) Chp 5,6 (50 pages)

Break Feb 23 Week 7

Study design Review with a focus on specific issue in caepi

Chp 8,9,10 (65 pages)

March 1 Week 8

Interpretation of epidemiological Studies

Chp 13,14 (50 pages) Assignment 2

March 8 Week 9

Causes of Cancer Overall and site specific

March 15 Week 10

Example of IARC review process Radiofrequency exposures Discussion of type and strength of evidence

Blot and Tarone, 2015 Doll and Peto 1981 Cancer Risk 2015 IARC monograph summary Assignment 3

March 22 Week 11

Example of IARC review process Meat

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IARC monograph summary

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Discussion of type and strength of evidence March 29 Week 12

Cancer Prevention

Chp 16, Brennan 2015

April 5 Week 13

Description of your cancer site Presentation of one promising research direction

Assignment 4 Oral in Class Written due April 8

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