Scientist Profiles

Pamela L. Horn-Ross, Ph.D.
Director of Research, Senior Research Scientist, Northern California Cancer Center

Consulting Professor, Division of Epidemiology, Dept. of Health Research & Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine
Member, Stanford Cancer Center

2201 Walnut Avenue, Suite 300
Fremont, California 94538-2334
E-mail: pam@nccc.org
Phone: 510-608-5014
Fax: 510-608-5085


Research Interests:

• The potentially anti-carcinogenic effects of phytonutrients (e.g., isoflavones in soy-based foods and isothiocyanates in cruciferous vegetables)
• The causes and prevention of breast, endometrial and thyroid cancer in women

Dr. Horn-Ross' research focuses on nutrition and the etiology of hormonally-dependent cancers in women including cancers of the breast, endometrium and thyroid. Of particular interest are the effects of phytonutrients that may reduce cancer risk, such as the isoflavones in soy foods, the lignans in whole grains, the isothiocyanates in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, and resveratrol in red wine and peanuts. For breast cancer, a critical period of exposure may be during puberty. Hence, Dr. Horn-Ross is currently conducting a cohort study in girls that is examining the effects of isoflavones on pubertal development.

Dr. Horn-Ross is also one of the founding members of the California Teachers Study, which includes 133,479 women who are participating in a lifetime study of women's health. As one of the cohort's primary investigators, she is responsible for the nutritional aspects of the study. Her work in this cohort includes the assessment of dietary and phytonutrient intake and breast, endometrial, and thyroid cancer risk; evaluating the effects of alcohol on breast cancer risk; and an assessment of obesity and cancers of the breast and endometrium.

Dr. Horn-Ross also has a strong interest in thyroid cancer. Her previous work in this area has helped to: dispel the idea that excess iodine increases the risk of thyroid cancer in iodine-sufficient populations; confirm the hormonal aspects of thyroid cancer etiology; and identify goiter and diet as major factors explaining ethnic variation in this disease.

Another area in which Dr. Horn-Ross is currently doing research is the modification of the nutritional effects on cancer risk by polymorphic variation in genes which influence the metabolism of phytonutrients and the synthesis and metabolism of steroid hormones, e.g., estrogens and androgens.

Selected Research Projects:

Razavi P, Pike MC, Horn-Ross PL, Templeman C, Bernstein L, Ursin G. Long-term postmenopausal hormone therapy and endometrial cancer.  Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, (in press).

Setiawan VW, Doherty JA, Shu X-O, Akbari M, Chen C, DeVivo I, DeMichele A, Goodman MT, Haiman CA, Hankinson SE, Henderson BE, Horn-Ross PL, Le Marchand L, Levine DA, Liang X, Lurie G, McGrath M, Narod SA, Rebbeck TR, Ursin G, Weiss NS, Xiang Y-B, Zheng W, Olson SH.  Two estrogen-related variants in CYP19A1 and endometrial cancer risk:  pooled analysis in the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium (E2C2). Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009; 18:242-247. 

Horn-Ross PL, Lee VS, Collins CN, Stewart SL, Canchola AJ, Lee MM, Reynolds P, Clarke CA, Bernstein L, Stram DO. Dietary assessment in the California Teachers Study: reproducibility and validity. Cancer Causes Control 2008; 19:595-603.

Setiawan VW, Doherty JA, Shu X-O, Akbari M, Chen C, DeVivo I, DeMichele A, Goodman MT, Haiman CA, Hankinson SE, Henderson BE, Horn-Ross PL, Le Marchand L, Levine DA, Liang X, Lurie G, McGrath M, Narod SA, Rebbeck TR, Ursin G, Weiss NS, Xiang Y-B, Zheng W, Olson SH. Two estrogen-related variants in CYP19A1 and endometrial cancer risk: pooled analysis in the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium (E2C2). Cancer Epidemiol Biomark Prev 2009; 18:242-247.

Innos K, Horn-Ross PL. Risk of second primary breast cancers among women with ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2008; 111:531-540.

Chang ET, Lee VS, Canchola AJ, Clarke CA, Purdie DM, Anton-Culver H, Bernstein L, Cress R, Deapen D, Peel D, Pinder R, Reynolds P, Ross RK, Stram DO, West DW, Wright W, Ziogas A, Horn-Ross PL. Dietary intake and risk of ovarian cancer in the California Teachers Study cohort. Am J Epidemiol 2007; 165:802-813. 

Horn-Ross PL, Barnes S, Lee VS, Collins CN, Reynolds P, Lee MM, Stewart SL, Canchola AJ, Wilson L, Jones K.  Reliability and validity of an assessment of usual phytoestrogen consumption. Cancer Causes Control 2006; 17:85-93.   

Canchola AJ, Horn-Ross PL, Purdie DM.  Risk of second primary malignancies in women with papillary thyroid cancer.  Am J Epidemiol 2006; 163:521-527.   

Horn-Ross PL, Canchola AJ, West DW, Stewart SL, Bernstein L, Deapen D, Pinder R, Ross RK, Anton-Culver H, Peel D, Ziogas A, Reynolds P, Wright W.  Patterns of alcohol consumption and breast cancer risk in the California Teachers Study Cohort. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarker Prev 2004; 13:405-411.    

All publications (85)


Education:

Professional Memberships, Professional Activities, and Awards:
1984 - present  Member, Society for Epidemiologic Research (SER)
1989 - present  Member, American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO)
1991 - present  Member (1991-2000); Member, Admissions Committee (1998-2003); Fellow (2000-present), American College of Epidemiology (ACE)
1994 - 2001  Ad hoc member of several study sections for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Center Program, and the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program
1997  Best Poster Award, American Society of Preventive Oncology
1998 - 1999  Member, NIH EDC-2 study section
2004 - present  Member, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
2005  Chair, Endometrial Cancer Working Group, 2nd NCI Epidemiology Leadership Workshop: Understudied Rare Cancers
2005 - present  Member, Executive Committee (2007-present); Planning Committee (2005-2007); Chair, Plant Foods Working Group (2006-present); Member, Genetics Working Group (2006-present), Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium (E2C2)

Web site Links:
Stanford website for Dr. Horn-Ross:
http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/Pamela_Horn-Ross/

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