The Biostatistics Core provides collaborative services in the areas of biostatistics; programming, computation and data management; and data abstraction and medical records management. The 1.75 FTE biostatisticians will administer the core and collaborative in study and form design, perform interim analyses and monitoring of ongoing studies and experiments, and collaborate in analyses (including methodological work as needed), manuscript preparation and publication. The programming and computer group will have 3.6 FTE's to accomplish the following tasks: maintain a VAX cluster of computers (one 6310 and two 11/750's) with a 4 gigabyte disk farm and the ability to handle 40 simultaneous users, prepare data entry software and file structure for specific ALC projects, consult on the purchase, operation and problems of investigator PC's used for ALC projects, perform statistical software runs under the direction of the biostatisticians, program reporting software, and maintain current and archival datafiles both online and offline. The data abstraction unit consists of individuals with medical records expertise. These 7.1 FTE's spread among eleven individuals perform the following tasks: 1) abstract selected data points for the approximately 320 patients/year used in the grant proposal, 2) register patients on protocols (including randomized studies), and 3) maintain and run a research file room for the use of the ALC investigators. The unit has provided all of these services during the current 5 year grant. The biostatistical interaction is evidenced by the fact that biostatisticians have been coauthors on 64 ALC publications, including 17 in 1990.