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Welcome to the online home of the Carolina Breast Cancer Study family of studies!

The Carolina Breast Cancer Study, or CBCS, is a groundbreaking research endeavor of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center since 1993. A multidisciplinary study from the start, CBCS combines public health epidemiology research methods with clinical tracking, genetic and genomic analyses, advanced medical records abstraction, qualitative methods recording breast survivors’ stories, and more.

What makes CBCS stand out?

CBCS researchers are always innovating, using the latest research and techniques to advance the study of breast cancer. CBCS uses using cutting-edge molecular techniques to look the behaviors and responses of participants’ immune systems to the cancer and in response to treatment, and we are on the forefront of developing AI systems to speed diagnosis and increase quality of care.

CBCS combines molecular analyses, genomics and genetics, interviews and medical records, and more to create in depth profiles of health care quality, usage, and accessibility across North Carolina. This is so we can every Tar Heel–from the sea to the mountains, in every farm, neighborhood, town, and city–can get high quality health care.

CBCS researchers are always looking to collaborate. CBCS is a proud member of associations and partnerships that combine multiple sites’ data. This expands researchers’ ability to look into the most challenging questions, especially for the rarest types of breast cancer. Inside, we work with NC Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute, Pathology Services Core, Biospecimen Processing Facility, Tissue Procurement Facility, Department of Radiology, and many more! Outside UNC, we work with Susan G. Komen, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Breast Cancer Association Consortium, and many more!

CBCS has produced data for over 230 peer-reviewed manuscripts, dozens of graduate theses, and countless posters and presentations.

Why is CBCS important?

Every year in North Carolina, approximately 5,500 women continue to be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. While breast cancer as a whole is more treatable than ever, not every type of breast cancer is, and not everyone enjoys the same rates of successful outcomes. For example, with the continued trend of rural hospital closures, we know that some people face many challenges just getting the care they need.

If you hear from CBCS, know that you’ve been specially selected to represent North Carolinians like you in this vital research. By sharing a few hours of your time with us, you’ll be a representative on the world’s stage. North Carolina has a special mix of people and places that make breast cancer research conducted here improve treatment and other research across the United States and beyond.

What is CBCS?

CBCS is a family of studies that build off their predecessors, but each asks something new.

What makes CBCS possible?

CBCS is possible because of the dedication, determination, generosity, and advocacy of the People of North Carolina and our Community Advisory Board.

CBCS is conducted by the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in affiliation with the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is funded in part by the University Cancer Research Fund, the National Cancer Institute‘s Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in breast cancer, the UNC Lineberger TNBC Center (Triple Negative Breast Cancer Center), Susan G. Komen For the Cure, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

CBCS is a proud part of renowned national and international breast cancer research consortia, including the Breast Cancer Association Consortium, the African Ancestry Breast Cancer Genetic Consortium, and the African American Breast Cancer Epidemiology and Risk (AMBER) Consortium.

See News & Events for the latest in what’s happening with CBCS and about breast cancer across North Carolina, including a new profile of CBCS’s Principal Investigator in Center Lines and news about a $25 million dollar gift to study breast cancer at UNC.

Watch our informational video.