Cancer Epidemiology Program

The Cancer Epidemiology Program’s mission is to identify risk factors for cancer, enabling further understanding of cancer causes and creation of strategies to reduce the incidence of cancer. The Program defines risk and translates epidemiologic research into preventive interventions; by identifying cancer risk biomarkers, basic science studies can be better targeted to relevant mechanisms of human carcinogenesis.

The Cancer Epidemiology Program is closely integrated with disease-based programs; Program members lead or co-lead the Ovary and Lung SPOREs and participate in other SPOREs. This collaborative environment facilitates transfer of scientific discovery from population study to the bench and back again.

The Cancer Epidemiology Program has four specific aims:

• Identify hormonal markers and other intermediate markers (including proteomic and metabolic patterns) and energy balance, both in childhood and adulthood and cancer risk
• Evaluate molecular markers of cancer risk among phenotypically well-defined subjects, with emphasis on gene-environment interactions
• Evaluate chronic inflammatory processes in relation to cancer risk through lifestyle, molecular markers, and use of anti-inflammatory drugs
• Establish the role of dietary factors, including vitamin D, E, folate, and other nutritional contributors to one-carbon metabolism and cancer risk

Accomplishment of these scientific aims will help the Program achieve faster translation of epidemiological findings into prevention strategies.

• The Cancer Epidemiology Program has developed nodal point interactions with disease-based programs
• Breast, Prostate, Ovary, Lung, Myeloma, and Melanoma SPOREs each draw on tissue, plasma, DNA, and data from epidemiological studies
• Cancer Epidemiology Program databases are used by projects in Outcomes Research Program
• Cancer Epidemiology Program findings are translated into prevention interventions implemented in Risk Reduction Program

Links

Cores for program members: 

• Rapid Case Identification
• High-Throughput Polymorphism
• Health Communication
• Community Practice
• Measurement and Survey
• Pathology Cores
  • Cytogenetics
  • Rodent Histopathology
  • Specialized Histopathology Services
  • Tissue MicroArray
• Tumor Microarray Core
• Proteomics
• DNA Resource