Overview of the BioBank Japan Project: Study design and profile

Akiko Nagai; Makoto Hirata; Yoichiro Kamatani; Kaori Muto; Koichi Matsuda; Yutaka Kiyohara; Toshiharu Ninomiya; Akiko Tamakoshi; Zentaro Yamagata; Taisei Mushiroda; Yoshinori Murakami; Koichiro Yuji; Yoichi Furukawa; Hitoshi Zembutsu; Toshihiro Tanaka; Yozo Ohnishi; Yusuke Nakamura; BioBank Japan Cooperative Hospital Group; Michiaki Kubo

doi:10.1016/j.je.2016.12.005

Overview of the BioBank Japan Project: Study design and profile

J Epidemiol. 2017 Mar;27(3S):S2-S8. doi: 10.1016/j.je.2016.12.005. Epub 2017 Feb 8.

Authors

Akiko Nagai¹, Makoto Hirata², Yoichiro Kamatani³, Kaori Muto¹, Koichi Matsuda⁴, Yutaka Kiyohara⁵, Toshiharu Ninomiya⁶, Akiko Tamakoshi⁷, Zentaro Yamagata⁸, Taisei Mushiroda⁹, Yoshinori Murakami¹⁰, Koichiro Yuji¹¹, Yoichi Furukawa¹², Hitoshi Zembutsu¹³, Toshihiro Tanaka¹⁴, Yozo Ohnishi¹⁵, Yusuke Nakamura¹⁶; BioBank Japan Cooperative Hospital Group; Michiaki Kubo²⁹

Collaborators

BioBank Japan Cooperative Hospital Group:
Masaki Shiono¹⁷, Kazuo Misumi¹⁷, Reiji Kaieda¹⁷, Hiromasa Harada¹⁷, Shiro Minami¹⁸, Mitsuru Emi¹⁸, Naoya Emoto¹⁸, Hiroyuki Daida¹⁹, Katsumi Miyauchi¹⁹, Akira Murakami¹⁹, Satoshi Asai²⁰, Mitsuhiko Moriyama²⁰, Yasuo Takahashi²⁰, Tomoaki Fujioka²¹, Wataru Obara²¹, Seijiro Mori²², Hideki Ito²², Satoshi Nagayama²³, Yoshio Miki²³, Akihide Masumoto²⁴, Akira Yamada²⁴, Yasuko Nishizawa²⁵, Ken Kodama²⁵, Hiromu Kutsumi²⁶, Yoshihisa Sugimoto²⁶, Yukihiro Koretsune²⁷, Hideo Kusuoka²⁷, Hideki Yanai²⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Policy, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
² Laboratory of Genome Technology, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
³ Laboratory for Statistical Analysis, RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Japan.
⁴ Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Laboratory of Clinical Genome Sequencing, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Hisayama Research Institute for Lifestyle Diseases, Fukuoka, Japan.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
⁷ Department of Public Health, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
⁸ Department of Health Sciences, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.
⁹ Laboratory for Pharmacogenomics, RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Japan.
¹⁰ Division of Molecular Pathology, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
¹¹ Project Division of International Advanced Medical Research, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
¹² Division of Clinical Genome Research, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
¹³ Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Division of Genetics, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan.
¹⁴ SNP Research Center, RIKEN Yokohama Institute, Yokohama, Japan; Department of Human Genetics and Disease Diversity, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan; Bioresource Research Center, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
¹⁵ SNP Research Center, RIKEN Yokohama Institute, Yokohama, Japan; Shinko Clinic, Medical Corporation Shinkokai, Tokyo, Japan.
¹⁶ Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Section of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, USA.
¹⁷ Tokushukai Hospitals, Japan.
¹⁸ Nippon Medical School, Japan.
¹⁹ Juntendo University, Japan.
²⁰ Nihon University, Japan.
²¹ Iwate Medical University, Japan.
²² Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Japan.
²³ The Cancer Institute Hospital of JFCR, Japan.
²⁴ Aso Iizuka Hospital, Japan.
²⁵ Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Japan.
²⁶ Shiga University of Medical Science, Japan.
²⁷ National Hospital Organization, Osaka National Hospital, Japan.
²⁸ Fukujuji Hospital, Japan.
²⁹ RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Japan. Electronic address: michiaki.kubo@riken.jp.

Abstract

Background: The BioBank Japan (BBJ) Project was launched in 2003 with the aim of providing evidence for the implementation of personalized medicine by constructing a large, patient-based biobank (BBJ). This report describes the study design and profile of BBJ participants who were registered during the first 5-year period of the project.

Methods: The BBJ is a registry of patients diagnosed with any of 47 target common diseases. Patients were enrolled at 12 cooperative medical institutes all over Japan from June 2003 to March 2008. Clinical information was collected annually via interviews and medical record reviews until 2013. We collected DNA from all participants at baseline and collected annual serum samples until 2013. In addition, we followed patients who reported a history of 32 of the 47 target diseases to collect survival data, including cause of death.

Results: During the 5-year period, 200,000 participants were registered in the study. The total number of cases was 291,274 at baseline. Baseline data for 199,982 participants (53.1% male) were available for analysis. The average age at entry was 62.7 years for men and 61.5 years for women. Follow-up surveys were performed for participants with any of 32 diseases, and survival time data for 141,612 participants were available for analysis.

Conclusions: The BBJ Project has constructed the infrastructure for genomic research for various common diseases. This clinical information, coupled with genomic data, will provide important clues for the implementation of personalized medicine.

Keywords: BioBank Japan Project; Biobank; Genomic research; Personalized medicine.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Biological Specimen Banks*
Female
Genetic Research
Humans
Japan
Male
Middle Aged
Precision Medicine
Registries*
Research Design