Investigators from China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, the United States, and other countries and national economies meet on a biannual basis to report on the progress of each country's cohort, to discuss issues relevant to the development of common protocol guidelines, and to prepare for collaborative projects. Working groups, each consisting of representatives from the different member countries, have been established to examine specifically the issues of: diet; obesity and physical activity; occupation and environment; alcohol and tobacco; medical and reproductive history; family history; follow-up and endpoint ascertainment; biospecimens and sample collection; data collection and management; and previously established cohorts.