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Developing a biological database benefits all

Academia Sinica's plans to develop a biological database have been given serious consideration by the public. This is a good thing for those of us involved in research, particularly since it gives us the opportunity to hold a rational debate at the beginning of the project.

We hope to introduce it to the public and look forward to receiving comments and ideas.

The study design used in developing this biological database is called a prospective cohort study. This method follows a sample of disease-free individuals -- a cohort -- for a long period of time.

At the beginning of the study, risk factor information is collected, and the cohort is then observed to see whether those who are exposed to these risk factors have a higher risk of developing a disease.

This design provides us with an understanding of the effects on disease of many risk factors in our daily lives.

Taiwan's internationally renowned study on the cause-and-effect relationship between hepatitis B and liver cancer is a successful example of the use of prospective cohort studies.

In the era of genetic medicine, scientists are gradually gaining an understanding of the effect of genes or heredity on disease prevalence, and this has explained why the disease incidence will not be consistent when different people are exposed to the same risk factors.

As a result, scientists want to conduct research directed towards finding the effect of gene and risk factor interaction on disease development. This means that at the beginning of a prospective cohort study, researchers not only measure risk factors relevant to the study, they also collect blood samples.

Based on every person's genetic makeup, which can be examined through his or her biological specimens using bioassay, the researchers can further establish the cause-and-effect relationship between genes/risk factors and disease. Throughout the world, this is the most fundamental theoretical structure adopted when conducting biological database research.

The genetic inheritance of the Taiwanese people is unique, and lifestyles and disease-causing risk factors differ from country to country.

Therefore, we hope to build Taiwan's biological database in order to look into the factors causing common chronic diseases in Taiwan and to understand the impact of the interaction between genetic and environmental factors on such diseases in order to establish effective treatments and preventive strategies to safeguard the health of people in Taiwan.

Because Taiwan's social environment is unique, this major research project will be relevant to the nation's biomedical development and the well-being of all citizens several decades from now.

Colleagues from other fields at Academia Sinica who are participating in the project are therefore undertaking careful planning and implementing the principle of transparency when explaining the project to the public.

Currently, we are on the one hand evaluating the feasibility of different methodologies. On the other hand, because some scholars have raised concerns, we are temporarily postponing the collection of blood plasma samples in the hope of taking a step-by-step approach to build a public consensus.

We hope that every sector in society will be able to discuss the matter in a rational manner, based on facts.

Chen Yuan-tsong is the head of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences at Academia Sinica. Shen Chen-yang is an associate research fellow at the institute.

Translated by Lin Ya-ti
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