ATBC Study

The Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene (ATBC) Lung Cancer Prevention Study was a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial testing whether alpha-tocopherol and/or beta-carotene supplements can reduce the incidence of lung and other cancers. Almost 30 000 male smokers, aged 50 to 69 years, participated the study between1984-1993 in Finland. Participants were randomized to receive daily active supplements or placebo capsules for 5 to 8 years (median 6.1 years). Blood samples and several physical measurements (e.g. height, weight, blood pressure, heart rate) were collected during the base line and several follow-up visits. Participants also completed questionnaires on medical, smoking and occupational histories and diet. After the active study part, the health and mortality of the participants has actively been followed from the Finnish health registers. ATBC is still one of the largest lung cancer chemoprevention trials worldwide, and more than 450 scientific publications have been produced from the study.

Samples and the collected research data for nearly 29 000 participants of the ATBC study are now available for research purposes through THL Biobank. These data can be linked to Information from the Finnish national health registries, such as Care Register for Health Care (HILMO), Cancer Register, Cause-of-Death Register and Drug Imbursement Registers etc., by a separate application process for longitudinal health monitoring.

Samples and data available in THL Biobank

A brief introduction to the ATBC Study and description of the material available in THL Biobank can be found in the 'Read me first' file. Summarized information on nutrition data in different biobank cohorts is provided in the document 'Nutrition data available in THL Biobank'.

For more detailed information on sample availability, please see the 'THL Biobank Sample availability table'.

Detailed list of attributes available in the biobank can be found in the variable descriptions file.

Genome-wide SNP data is available for over 15 000 participants, for more detailed information, please see the 'THL Biobank Omics availability table'.