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Current topics in cancer epidemiology

Tutors

Dr Mona Jeffreys, Dr Athene Lane, Dr Margaret May (course organisers), Prof Richard Martin, Dr Nora Pashayan, Ms Luisa Zuccolo, Dr Dave Evans, Mr Simon Collins and others

Duration

3 days

Dates

Not available until 2013/14

Course fee

£600

Course aims and objectives

The course aims to introduce students to some current topics in cancer epidemiology. By the end of the course students should:

• know how to access the sources of routinely collected cancer data used in observational epidemiology, and know the limitations of these;
• know the basic descriptive and risk factor epidemiology of the main cancers;
• understand the basics of cancer screening, and critically consider the challenges it poses;
• understand the use of genetic association studies in cancer epidemiology;
• have an understanding of current approaches to analysing cancer survival studies and be able to interpret the results of such analyses as presented in the published literature;
• have an appreciation of some of the more advanced statistical methods used in analysing cancer data;
• have an understanding of the importance of considering cancer using a life course approach;
• have an appreciation of some of the inequalities that exist in cancer incidence and outcomes.

Who the course is intended for

Participants should have a knowledge of basic epidemiology and statistics, at least to the level achieved in the 'Basic Epidemiology' and 'Introduction to Statistics' short courses.

Course outline

Cancer registration and mortality recording; types of genetic association studies, as applied to cancer epidemiology; measures of effect in cancer epidemiology; survival, cure and competing risks models; join point analysis of cancer trends; the basics of a cancer screening programme; cancer inequalities; a life course approach to cancer epidemiology.

Teaching time

The teaching time is approximately 17 hours.

Teaching methods

A mixture of lectures, paper discussions, facilitated small group work and a computer practical using Stata. Students will work in small groups to research a specific cancer, and give a presentation to peers on the last day.

For further information please contact short-course@bristol.ac.uk