The Lifepool research project is helping improve our understanding of how breast, ovarian and other gynaecological cancers develop, to find better ways of screening for these cancers, or predicting an a woman’s individual risk.
Lifepool collects blood or saliva samples for genetic research, as well as tumour samples from women diagnosed with breast cancer.
All women can contribute to the Lifepool project, contributing precious drops of information into a secure ‘pool’ of data.
Lifepool is a research study for every woman, including women who have had a diagnosis of cancer and women who have not.
The information and biospecimens that Lifepool collects from participants are deidentified and used in national and international research.
Lifepool was developed through initial funding by the National Breast Cancer Foundation and is led by researchers and clinicians from Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Professor Ian Campbell, Professor Paul James, Professor Stephen Fox), The University of Melbourne (Professor John Hopper, Associate Professor Carolyn Nickson) and The Royal Melbourne and Womens’ hospitals (Professor Bruce Mann). BreastScreen Victoria is a close collaborator on the Lifepool project.
Contact
Lisa Devereux, Lifepool Manager
Email:
Phone: 1800 198 082
Information for participants
Lifepool currently has over 55,000 participants and is continuing to recruit women across Australia.
When you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete a health and lifestyle questionnaire. You may then be asked to donate a saliva or blood sample for DNA testing.
By contributing to the Lifepool Project, you can make a significant contribution toward improving the health of Australian women.
All contributions of data and biospecimens are deidentified. Lifepool creates a unique link for each individual woman, identifying you only via an eight digit Lifepool identification number.
Researchers using this data never see information that would identify any individuals.
Any woman over 18 years of age who has had, or intends to have, a mammogram with BreastScreen Victoria can sign up for the Lifepool project.
To join Lifepool
Please email
You will receive a link to the online information, consent and questionnaire page by email. See also the Participant information form. You can also request a hardcopy pack to be sent to your home address.
For more information on how to arrange a free mammogram with BreastScreen, go to the BreastScreen website or phone 13 20 50.
Frequently asked questions
Information for researchers
The resources of Lifepool are available to national and international researchers from the academic and commercial sector, subject to a rigorous review and approval process
The Lifepool access policy provides an overview of the application process and describes how applications are reviewed.
Participants | 55,700 |
|---|---|
Completed Baseline Questionnaires | 55,700 |
Participants diagnosed with breast cancer (invasive & in situ) | 2,764 |
DNA from participants with a diagnosis of breast cancer | 1,015 |
DNA from participants unaffected by cancer | 14,005 |
Digital mammogram images | 994,000 |
Participants with more than 10 years follow-up data | 20,711 |
Data updated: February 2024
Please contact Lifepool Manager Lisa Devereux to discuss how the resource can support your research.
Related pages
To access BreastScreen Victoria services:
BreastScreen Victoria. Caring about Women.
For information or to make a screening mammogram appointment. You can also call 13 20 50
The National Breast Cancer Foundation