kConFab brings together geneticists, clinicians, surgeon, genetic counsellors, psychosocial researchers, pathologists and epidemiologists from all over Australia and New Zealand who believe the causes and consequences of familial predisposition to breast cancer can be understood only by a concerted national effort at both the basic and clinical level.

In 1997, kConFab, with the help of the Family Cancer centres in Australia and New Zealand began enrolling families with a strong history of breast and breast/ovarian cancer. Genetic, epidemiological, medical and psychosocial data collected from these families by kConFab nurses and researchers are stored in a de-identified fashion in a central relational database. Biospecimens collected from family members are used to characterise germ-line mutations in predisposing genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2. kConFab has accumulated data on more than1400 multigenerational, multicase kindreds.

kConFab itself is not a research organisation in the usual sense, but rather provides a resource upon which researchers can draw. The aims of the consortium are to make data and biospecimens widely available to researchers for use in peer-reviewed, ethically-approved funded research projects on familial aspects of breast cancer. At present, kConFab is supplying biological specimens and data to more than 75 research projects world wide.

kConFab Questions and Answers (pdf)

• kConFab members
• How do I Become a Member?
• Participating Institutes
• Executive Committee
• Working Committees
• kConFab Research Nurses
• Collaborating Family Cancer Centres
• Funding

• Update (as of Apr, 2008)
• Classification of Mutations
• Publications
  • Analysis of cancer risk and BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation prevalence in the kConFab familial breast cancer resource. Mann et al. 2006 (pdf)
  
  
• Merged Families
• Titles of Research Projects using kConFab Data and Biospecimens
• Letter of Intent submissions

• Eligibility Criteria
• Research Information Sheet (pdf)
• Confidentiality and Privacy Policy (pdf)
• Ethical Consent Form (pdf)
• Protocol for Collection of Biospecimens
• Epidemiology Questionnaire
• Mouthwash Protocol (pdf)
• Dietary Questionnaire
• Instructions for kConFab nurses (pdf)
• Action sheet for fresh tissue collection (pdf)
• Annual Review of Families

• Policy and Procedures for Access to Data and Biospecimens (pdf) Application Cover Sheet (doc)
• Application Process Flowchart
• Letter Of Intent
• Data Request form (doc)
• Amendment Request Form (doc)
• Available Data Fields
• Biospecimen Request Form (doc)
• Material Transfer Agreement
• kConFab Administration Fees (commencing 2008) (pdf)
• Annual report for projects using kConFab data/biospecimens (doc)
• Acknowledgements for papers using kConFab data/biospecimens