NCCC scientists studying breast cancer | Focus of our breast cancer research | Breast cancer studies | Collaborators |
Products of our research
Breast cancer is the most common cancer occurring among women and the second leading cause of cancer death. Overall, breast cancer rates are very high in the Bay Area, due in some part to the lifestyle choices of our community (e.g., delayed childbearing, smaller families and greater use of hormone replacement therapy). However, our community is also very culturally diverse, so these lifestyle factors and the occurrence of breast cancer vary greatly within our community.
These circumstances compel NCCC researchers to investigate the causes, prevention, consequences, and changing patterns of breast cancer. In doing so, we focus on factors that may affect the development of breast cancer (i.e., potentially changeable as well as unchangeable aspects of lifestyle and the environment, and genetic variation) and on the experience of women after a breast cancer diagnosis (i.e., the effects of comorbidities and patterns of care, and quality of life).
Our goal is to better understand the causes of this disease, its prevention and early detection, and how patients can live most successfully after a breast cancer diagnosis.
NCCC Scientists Studying Breast Cancer
The following NCCC scientists are engaged in breast cancer research (alphabetical order):
Ellen Chang, Sc.D.
Christina A. Clarke, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Sharon Davis, M.P.A.
Sally L. Glaser, Ph.D.
Scarlett Lin Gomez, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Pamela L. Horn-Ross, Ph.D.
Esther M. John, Ph.D., M.S.P.H.
Theresa Keegan, Ph.D.
David Nelson, Ph.D.
Ingrid Oakley-Girvan, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Peggy Reynolds, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Rudy Rull, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Dee W. West, Ph.D.
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Focus of our Breast Cancer Research
NCCC scientists have been or are currently studying these breast cancer projects as well as the following aspects of breast cancer:
| Incidence |
| Racial/ethnic differences |
| Birth characteristics and breast cancer in young women |
| Patterns and causes of geographic variation (including breast cancer in Marin County and differences between Asians in the United States and Asia) |
| Disease subtypes (e.g., in situ and lobular and hormone-receptor defined tumors) |
| Prevalence of established risk factors |
| Male breast cancer |
| Environmental and lifestyle factors |
| Air quality |
| Tobacco |
| Physical activity |
| Metals |
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Vitamin D (from diet and sunlight)
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Dietary phytoestrogens (from soy, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and some fruits and vegetables)
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| Dietary isothiocyanates (from broccoli, cabbage, and other cruciferous vegetables) |
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Dietary patterns
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Heterocyclic amines in cooked meat
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Alcohol
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Body size
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Breast feeding, hormone replacement therapy, and other factors related to menstruation and reproduction
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| Pubertal development |
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Epstein-Barr virus and other childhood infections
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| Immune function |
| Microbes and infections |
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Medical radiation
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Migration and acculturation
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Occupation
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Socioeconomic status and its correlates
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Family history of cancer
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| Built environment |
| Genetic factors |
| BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM, CHK2 |
| Hormone receptor genes (AR, VDR) |
| Immune-function genes (HLA, IL-6) |
| Genes determining breast density (a strong breast cancer risk factor) |
| Genes in the steroid hormone pathway (CYP 17, CYP 19, HSD17B1, and others) |
| Phase I and II genes (GST's, CYP's and others) |
| Alcohol metabolism genes (ADH) |
| Early detection |
| Impediments to screening |
| Accuracy of self-perceived risk |
| Risk notification among high-risk family members |
| Survival |
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Recurrence
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| Clinical predictors |
| Comorbidities (including obesity) |
| Racial/ethnic differences |
| Socioeconomic status |
| Male breast cancer |
| Treatment and cancer care issues |
| Quality differences in staging and adoption of new treatment regimes |
| Effects of age, race/ethnicity, immigration, acculturation, and cultural factors |
| Access |
| Quality of life |
| Residual effects of treatment |
| Social support |
| Second cancers following ductal in-situ breast cancer |
| Studies addressing measurement issues |
| Dietary assessment |
| Phytoestrogen assessment |
| Validity of self-reported cancer diagnoses |
| Assessment of comorbidity |
| Race/ethnicity and birthplace classification and misclassification |
| Assessment of mammographic screening behavior and behavioral constructs |
| Socioeconomic status |
| High-throughput, multiplex assays for immune and infection biomarkers |
| Isothiocyanate assessment |
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Collaborators who Conduct Breast Cancer Research with NCCC
NCCC researchers collaborate with a variety of scientists outside of NCCC, including the following who facilitate our breast cancer research programs by providing expertise in genetic, molecular, or laboratory methods and multidisciplinary perspectives in the interpretation of results.
| Collaborator |
Institution |
Expertise |
| Richard Ambinder, M.D., Ph.D. |
Johns Hopkins University |
Virology, oncology |
| Stephen Barnes, Ph.D. |
U. Alabama, Birmingham |
Biochemistry |
| Christopher Benz, M.D. |
U. California, San Francisco |
Oncology, molecular biology |
| Laura Esserman, M.D., M.B.A. |
U. California, San Francisco |
Oncology |
| Margaret Gulley, M.D. |
U. North Carolina |
Pathology |
| Sue Ingles, Dr.P.H. |
U. Southern California |
Genetics |
| Christopher Haiman, Sc.D. |
U. Southern California |
Molecular epidemiology |
| Alex Miron, Ph.D. |
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute |
Genetics |
| Hope Rugo, M.D. |
U. California, San Francisco |
Oncology |
| Elad Ziv, M.D. |
U. California, San Francisco |
Genetics |
| David Hirschberg, Ph.D. |
Stanford University |
Immunology |
| Allison Kurian, M.D., M.Sc. |
Stanford University |
Oncology |
| Julie Parsonnet, M.D. |
Stanford University |
Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology |
| Marcia Stefanick, Ph.D. |
Stanford University |
Cancer Prevention |
| Melinda Telli, M.D. |
Stanford University |
Oncology |
We also collaborate with large, interdisciplinary research teams on major breast cancer projects, including the Breast Cancer Family Registry and the California Teachers Study.
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Products of our Breast Cancer Research
Our research is typically reported in the scientific literature. Since 1997, NCCC scientists have published over 60 papers reporting results of breast cancer studies in the scientific literature.
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