Biography

Dr. Cross received a B.Sc. in Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, U.K. in 1997 and a Ph.D. in nutrition and cancer from the University of Cambridge, U.K. in 2002. She joined the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG) of NCI as a post-doctoral fellow in 2003 and became a research fellow in 2005 and an investigator in 2006. Dr. Cross is principal investigator (PI) of the CONCeRN study and of the Polyp Prevention Trial. She established and leads a colorectal cancer working group and is a member of the Office of Education Advisory Group and a mentor for the Yale University–NCI Partnership Training Program. In 2010, she received an NCI Mentor of Merit award, as well as an NIH award for Leadership of an Innovative Multidisciplinary Research Program.

Research Interests

• Lower gastrointestinal cancers
• Developing exposure assessment tools
• Etiologic studies of diet and cancer risk

Keywords

Colorectal cancer, meat, N-nitroso compounds, heterocyclic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, biomarkers

Selected Publications

• Cross AJ, Freedman ND, Ren J, Ward MH, Hollenbeck AR, Schatzkin A, Sinha R, Abnet CC. Meat consumption and risk of esophageal and gastric cancer in a large prospective study. American Journal Gastroenterology 2011; 106(3):432-42.
• Flood A, Mason JB, Liu Z, Cash BD, Schatzkin A, Schoenfeld PS, Cross AJ. Concentration of folate in colorectal tissue biopsies predicts prevalence of adenomatous polyps. Gut. 2011; 60(1):66-72.
• Ruder EH, Laiyemo AO, Graubard BI, Hollenbeck AR, Schatzkin A, Cross AJ. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and colorectal cancer risk in a large, prospective cohort. American Journal of Gastroenterology 2011 [Epub ahead of print].
• Cross AJ, Major JM, Sinha R. Urinary biomarkers of meat consumption. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention 2011 Jun;20(6):1107-11
• Cross AJ, Sinha R, Wood RJ, Huang WY, Yeager M, Hayes RB, Gunter MJ. Iron homeostasis and colorectal adenoma risk in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. In press, Cancer Prevention Research.
• Cross AJ, Ferrucci LM, Risch A, Graubard BI, Ward MH, Park Y, Hollenbeck AR, Schatzkin A, Sinha R. A large prospective study of meat consumption and colorectal cancer risk: an investigation of potential mechanisms underlying this association. Cancer Research 2010; 15;70(6):2406-14.
• Bobe G, Murphy G, Albert PS, Sansbury LB, Lanza E, Schatzkin A, Colburn NH, Cross AJ. Serum cytokine concentrations, flavonol intake and colorectal adenoma recurrence in the Polyp Prevention Trial. British Journal of Cancer 2010; 103(9):1453-61.
• Koutros S, Berndt SI, Sinha R, Ma X, Chatterjee N, Alavanja MCR, Zheng T, Huang WY, Hayes RB, Cross AJ. Xenobiotic metabolizing gene variants, dietary heterocyclic amine intake and risk of prostate cancer. Cancer Research 2009; 1;69(5):1877-84.
• Ferrucci LM, Sinha R, Graubard BI, Mayne ST, Ma X, Schatzkin A, Schoenfeld PS, Cash BD, Flood A, Cross AJ. Dietary meat intake in relation to colorectal adenoma in asymptomatic women. American Journal of Gastroenterology 2009; 104(5):1231-40.
• Cross AJ, Leitzmann MF, Subar AF, Thompson FE, Hollenbeck AR, Schatzkin A. A prospective study of meat and fat intake in relation to small intestinal cancer. Cancer Research 2008; 68 9274-9279.
• Schatzkin A, Park Y, Leitzmann MF, Hollenbeck AR, Cross AJ. Prospective study of dietary fiber, whole grain foods, and small intestinal cancer. Gastroenterology 2008; 135(4):1163-7.
• Cross AJ, Leitzmann MF, Gail MH, Hollenbeck AR, Schatzkin A, Sinha R. A prospective study of red and processed meat intake in relation to cancer risk. PLoS Medicine 2007;4(12):e325.
• Cross AJ, Greetham HL, Pollock JRA, Rowland IR, Bingham SA. Variability in fecal water genotoxicity, determined using the comet assay, is independent of endogenous N-nitroso compound formation attributed to red meat consumption. Environmental Molecular Mutagenesis 2006; 47(3):179-184.
• Cross AJ, Gunter MJ, Wood R, Pietinen P, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Albanes D, Sinha R. Iron and colorectal cancer risk in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Study. International Journal of Cancer 2006; 118(12):3147-52.
• Cross AJ, Ward MH, Schenk M, Kulldorff M, Cozen W, Davis S, Colt JS, Hartge P, Cerhan J, Sinha R. Meat and meat-mutagen intake and risk of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: Results from a NCI-SEER case-control study. Carcinogenesis 2006; 27:293-297.
• Cross AJ, Peters U, Kirsh VA, Andriole GL, Reding D, Hayes RB, Sinha R. A prospective study of meat and meat-mutagens and prostate cancer risk. Cancer Research 2005; 65(24):11779-84.
• Cross AJ, Pollock JRA, Bingham SA. Haem, not protein or inorganic iron, is responsible for endogenous N-nitrosation arising from red meat. Cancer Research 2003; 63:2358-60.

Collaborators

DCEG Collaborators

• Christian Abnet, Ph.D.
• Carrie Daniel, Ph.D.
• Neal Freedman, Ph.D.
• Barry Graubard, Ph.D.
• Wen-Yi Huang, Ph.D.
• Jacqueline Major, Ph.D.
• Steve Moore, Ph.D.
• Yikyung Park, Ph.D.
• Elizabeth Ruder, Ph.D.
• Joshua Sampson, Ph.D.
• Rashmi Sinha, Ph.D.
• Rachael Stolzenberg-Solomon, Ph.D.
• Mary Ward, Ph.D.
• Meredith Yeager, Ph.D.

Other NCI Collaborators

• Victor Kipnis, Ph.D.
• Amy Subar, Ph.D.
• Fran Thompson, Ph.D.

Other Scientific Collaborators

• Gerd Bobe, Ph.D., Oregon State University, OR
• Brooks D. Cash, M.D., FACP, National Naval Medical Center, MD
• Leah M. Ferrucci, Ph.D., Yale University, CT
• Andrew Flood, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, MN
• Marc J. Gunter, Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY
• Geoffrey C. Kabat, Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY
• Adeyinka Laiyemo, M.D., Howard University, MD
• James Harnly, Ph.D., U.S. Department of Agriculture, MD
• Terry Hartman, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University, PA
• Volker Mai, Ph.D., University of Florida, FL
• Susan T. Mayne, Ph.D., Yale University, CT
• Elena Martinez, Ph.D., Arizona Cancer Center, AZ
• Richard Wood, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, MA
• Xiaonan Xue, Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY