The InterCHANGE study is designed to better understand the role of HPV, genetics, tobacco and alcohol consumption in the etiology and clinical outcome of head and neck cancers (oral cavity, larynx, pharynx) in Latin American countries.

Comprehensive recruitment of cases and controls will allow for accurate determination of the role of important risk factors.

The InterCHANGE study aims to recruit a large series of 2000 cases and 2000 controls from multiple centres in South America, which will make it the largest study of head and neck cancers in this population. This size will ensure accurate and robust findings on the role of HPV infection, genetic and lifestyle factors in both etiology and survival.

The follow-up of the cases for several years after diagnosis (biological samples and data collected by questionnaire) will provide a unique resource to assess the role of lifestyle habits and genetic factors in prognosis and second primary cancer occurrence. The aim is also to identify biological markers of outcome.

InterCHANGE is coordinated by the International Agency for Research of Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France.