Alberta’s Tomorrow Project – Data Summary
Here are summaries of the data and biospecimens currently available from Alberta’s Tomorrow Project (ATP). New data are regularly coming online, so check back for updates!
We encourage you to browse through these tables to see if our data and biological samples fit your research question. You can learn more in our Data Collection Overview and Survey Information pages. Please contact our Access team by email or phone at any time.
Our Timeline: The figure above shows the evolution of Alberta’s Tomorrow Project (ATP); further information can be found on Our History and Data Collection Overview pages.
ATP was launched in 2000 and recruitment continued until 2015. Questionnaires were administered throughout this period, so the type and number of surveys completed by a participant depends on when they joined.
For example, a participant recruited in 2001 was invited to fill out the Health and Lifestyle Questionnaire (HLQ), followed by the Canadian Diet History Questionnaire-I (CDHQ-I) and the Past-Year Total Physical Activity Questionnaire (PYTPAQ) as part of the baseline enrollment package. Such a participant would have been sent additional questionnaires in subsequent years, such as Survey 2004 and Survey 2008.
In 2008 ATP joined four other cohorts across Canada to form the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project (CPTP). Two versions of questionnaires were delivered during this time: the Updated Health and Lifestyle Questionnaire (UHLQ) along with the Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (PANS) or the CORE questionnaire. Participants completed either UHLQ/PANS or CORE, as both contained very similar information.
Further information about the content of ATP questionnaires can be found on the Survey Information page. For the full surveys, click here.
Survey Completions
All ATP participants have completed one or more questionnaires, depending on when they joined ATP. The table below provides an estimate of the numbers of participants who have completed a single survey or combination of surveys, those who have provided a blood sample, and those diagnosed with cancer.
Further information and variable types available from each questionnaire can be found in Survey Information. ATP surveys can be found here.
For more specific numbers relevant to your particular research question, please contact us at ATP.Research@ahs.ca.
Survey Type | Completed Survey(s) | Completed Survey(s) and Provided Blood Sample | Completed Survey(s) and then Diagnosed With Cancer1 | Completed Survey(s), Provided Blood Sample and then Diagnosed With Cancer1 | Completed Survey(s), Diagnosed With Cancer1 and provided a post-diagnosis sample5 | Completed Survey(s), Diagnosed With Cancer1 and provided both a pre-diagnosis and post-diagnosis sample5 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
example: Health and Lifestyle Questionnaire (HLQ) |
All participants who completed the HLQ | All participants who completed the HLQ and provided a blood sample2 | All participants who completed the HLQ and then were diagnosed with any cancer | All participants who completed the HLQ, provided a blood sample, and then were diagnosed with any cancer | All participants who completed the HLQ, were diagnosed with any cancer1 and provided a post-diagnosis sample5 | All participants who completed the HLQ, were diagnosed with any cancer1 and provided both a pre-diagnosis and post-diagnosis sample5 |
HLQ | 31211 | 9648 | 2908 | 518 | 231 | 128 |
HLQ, CDHQ-I and PYTPAQ3 |
26890 | 9308 | 2553 | 503 | 220 | 119 |
HLQ and Survey 20044 |
9693 | 3164 | 992 | 168 | 89 | 42 |
HLQ and Survey 20084 |
20799 | 8424 | 1515 | 464 | 207 | 115 |
HLQ, Survey 2004 and Survey 2008 |
7430 | 2904 | 557 | 160 | 85 | 41 |
UHLQ/PANS or CORE | 39420 | 28388 | 884 | 509 | 416 | 285 |
HLQ and UHLQ/PANS or CORE |
15693 | 9478 | 884 | 509 | 231 | 128 |
Survey 2008 and UHLQ/PANS or CORE |
13950 | 8357 | 884 | 462 | 207 | 115 |
HLQ, Survey 2008 and UHLQ/PANS or CORE |
13949 | 8356 | 690 | 462 | 207 | 115 |
Survey Type | Completed Survey(s) | Completed Survey(s) and Provided Blood Sample | Completed Survey(s) and Diagnosed With Cancer 3 | Completed Survey(s), Provided Blood Sample and Diagnosed With Cancer 3 | Completed Survey(s), Diagnosed With Cancer1 and provided a post-diagnosis sample5 | Completed Survey(s), Diagnosed With Cancer1 and provided both a pre-diagnosis and post-diagnosis sample5 |
Notes
1 – Numbers reflect primary/incident cancers only, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer. Cancer incidence data is obtained via semi-annual linkage with the Alberta Cancer Registry.
2 – A reminder that the blood samples were collected between 2009 and 2015; therefore, for surveys completed prior to this time (e.g. HLQ, CDHQ-I, PYTPAQ, Survey 2004 and Survey 2008), the survey information will pre-date the blood sample collected. Urine samples were also collected at the time of blood sample collection, and therefore the number of participants with available urine samples is largely comparable to those with available blood sample. Information about other biospecimens and physical measurements available on ATP participants is available on the Data Collection Overview page.
3 – The values represented here reflect number of participants who completed all three questionnaires (HLQ, CDHQ-I, and PYTPAQ). If you are only interested in using HLQ and CDHQ-I together or HLQ and PYTPAQ together, the numbers will be very similar to the three questionnaires combined. This is because similar numbers of participants completed the CDHQ-I and/or PYTPAQ.
4 – The values represented here reflect number of participants who completed HLQ and Survey 2004 or HLQ and Survey 2008. If you are interested in using only Survey 2004 or Survey 2008 alone, the numbers will be very similar to the combined questionnaires. This is because Survey 2004 and Survey 2008 were only sent to participants who had already completed the HLQ.
5 – Linkage with the Alberta Cancer Research Biobank.
Summary of Cancer Diagnosed in Alberta’s Tomorrow Project Participants
ATP participants have generously provided their personal information and biospecimens to support research in the hopes of better understanding cancer and other chronic diseases.
The table below depicts the numbers of ATP participants who have been diagnosed with cancer over the course of follow-up. Participants consented to linkage with administrative databases, such as the Alberta Cancer Registry. ATP conducts semi-annual linkages with the Alberta Cancer Registry, which has been awarded Gold Standard certification from the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries.
Cancer Type | Total | Male | Female | Participants recruited 2000-2008 | Participants recruited 2009-2015 | Participants who provided a blood sample and then were diagnosed with cancer | Participants who were diagnosed with cancer and then donated a sample3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bladder | 64 | 51 | 13 | 58 | 6 | 18 | 3 |
Bones, Joints & Articular Cartilage | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Brain | 57 | 29 | 28 | 38 | 19 | 27 | 2 |
Breast | 784 | 1 | 783 | 582 | 202 | 257 | 225 |
Cervix/Uterine | 18 | 0 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 2 |
Colorectal | 371 | 173 | 198 | 299 | 72 | 102 | 35 |
Connective, Subcutaneous & Other Soft Tissues | 25 | 14 | 11 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 2 |
Endometrium | 194 | 0 | 194 | 150 | 44 | 60 | 17 |
Esophagus | 29 | 24 | 5 | 26 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
Gall Bladder | 14 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
Kidney | 77 | 40 | 37 | 59 | 18 | 24 | 12 |
Leukemia | 141 | 75 | 66 | 116 | 25 | 45 | 2 |
Liver & Intrahepatic Bile ducts | 36 | 21 | 15 | 30 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
Lung/Bronchus | 306 | 119 | 187 | 264 | 42 | 75 | 19 |
Multiple Myeloma & Plasmacytoma | 51 | 21 | 30 | 41 | 10 | 20 | 1 |
Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma | 156 | 80 | 76 | 119 | 37 | 51 | 3 |
Other Hematopoietic & Reticuloendothelial | 59 | 19 | 40 | 48 | 11 | 21 | 0 |
Ovary | 54 | 0 | 54 | 43 | 11 | 19 | 14 |
Pancreas | 84 | 37 | 47 | 72 | 12 | 14 | 3 |
Prostate | 655 | 655 | 0 | 507 | 148 | 225 | 46 |
Skin Melanoma | 185 | 84 | 101 | 128 | 56 | 68 | 1 |
Small Intestine | 22 | 12 | 10 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
Stomach | 38 | 27 | 11 | 32 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
Testis | 10 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Thyroid | 101 | 21 | 80 | 71 | 30 | 35 | 6 |
Unknown Primary | 26 | 11 | 15 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
All other (excluding NMSC) | 204 | 84 | 120 | 140 | 64 | 73 | 12 |
Total of All Cancers (excluding NMSC) | 3762 | 1614 | 2148 | 2914 | 847 | 1185 | 412 |
Cancer Type | Total | Male | Female | Participants recruited 2000-2008 | Participants recruited 2009-2015 | Participants who provided a blood sample and then were diagnosed with cancer | Participants who were diagnosed with cancer and then donated a sample3 |
Notes
1 – Includes Colon and/or Rectum and/or Rectosigmoid Junction
2 – Excluding non-melanoma skin cancer
3 – Linkage with the Alberta Cancer Research Biobank.