ArticleESMO rare cancers2025
The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Cohort (EPIC): a gateway to rare cancer epidemiological research.
Article in ESMO rare cancers, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Multi-objective optimization of national dietary guidelines: balancing nutrition, environment, and economy.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Dietary polyphenols as modulators of cell signaling and inflammation in colorectal carcinogenesis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
21 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Background: The intrinsic limitations of studying rare cancers poses challenges to undertaking studies with adequate statistical power. Therefore, efforts are needed to exploit available, high-quality resources. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) is a large-scale longitudinal cohort with great potential for rare cancer research. Materials and methods: We have used the EPIC data, which includes lifestyle, diet, and health information, on ∼520 000 participants recruited across Europe. Rare cancers were identified according to the RARE CAncer REgistry network (RARECAREnet) classification, which includes incidence-based categorization and detailed morphological and site-specific information. Results: An interactive R Shiny web application was developed to explore EPIC data interactively, available at https://epic-rare-cancers-explorer.opendata.iarc.who.int. Among the EPIC participants, 11 450 incident cases of rare cancers were identified, with data currently available for 8851 of them, encompassing a wide range of cancer sites and morphologies. Sex ratios and incidence rates align with previously reported statistics. The R Shiny web application was designed for preliminary data analysis and hypothesis generation, aiding researchers in assessing the feasibility and potential of epidemiological studies. Taking head and neck cancers as a use case, we confirmed the strong association of these tumors with tobacco and alcohol consumption, proving the suitability of EPIC for identifying risk factors for rare cancers. However, it is important to note that, as with all observational studies, the associations reported in this article do not establish causality. Conclusion: The development of the EPIC rare cancers database, accompanied by the development of an interactive web application, represents a significant step forward in rare cancer research embedded within a large-scale population-based cohort. It is therefore vital to promote awareness of this resource within the research community.
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Registered trials
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