Biography

Dr. Stolzenberg-Solomon received a BS in Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of California, Davis in 1984, followed by a dietetic internship and M.Ed. in Health Science (Nutrition) Education at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and George Peabody School of Education, respectively. After this training she worked as a Registered Dietitian for 10 years. In 1994 she completed a M.P.H. with concentrations in Epidemiology and Nutrition at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. Dr. Stolzenberg-Solomon joined the NCI in 1996 as a predoctoral fellow in the Cancer Prevention Studies Branch in the in the former Division of Cancer Prevention and Control and later the Center for Cancer Research and subsequently earned a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health in 1999. As a Cancer Prevention Fellow, she continued post-doctoral research in the Division of Cancer Prevention and DCEG. She became an investigator in the Nutritional Epidemiology Branch in December 2002.

Dr. Stolzenberg-Solomon has won several awards in recognition of her contributions to cancer research, including the 2008 NIH Merit Award for sustained and innovative work in elucidating nutritional, genetic, infectious, and other determinants of pancreatic cancer. She is an active mentor, working with graduate students, as well as post-doctoral fellows. She serves on the editorial board of the American Journal of Epidemiology and Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention. Dr. Stolzenberg-Solomon also holds a position as an adjunct Associate Professor at the Yale University School of Public Health and is a fellow of the American College of Epidemiology.

Research Interests

• Dietary, lifestyle, genetic and other risk factors for pancreatic cancer
• Nutritional, molecular, and other biomarkers (i.e. metabolomics) and cancer

Dr. Stolzenberg-Solomon has focused much of her research on elucidating the etiology of pancreatic cancer. She has examined dietary, other lifestyle,genetic, and infectious factors, including biomarkers that may help reveal underlying mechanisms of carcinogenesis. In addition to her major work on pancreatic cancer, she has pursued, on a limited basis, other nutrition-cancer hypotheses. These include the changes in biomarkers within interventions studies, etiologic factors in liver and renal cancers, and certain aspects of one-carbon metabolism in the etiology of gastrointestinal, renal cell, and colorectal cancers, and lymphoma.

Exocrine pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer mortality rates among men and women in the United States. As there are no effective screening methods for detection of this malignancy, it is typically diagnosed at advanced stages, which contributes to a dismal 5-year survival rate of 5%. Few consistent risk factors for pancreatic cancer have been identified, with type 2 diabetes, cigarette smoke, and obesity being the most consistent. An additional 10-15% of pancreatic cancers may be accounted for by inherited germ line disorders. As with other human genetic cancer risk, most genetic susceptibility related to pancreatic cancer, is likely due to low-penetrant but common susceptibility alleles that are not yet identified. Dietary factors likely play a role, although the specific components and mechanisms remain unclear, primarily because of limited and inconsistent study findings. The lack of identification of consistent risk factors may reflect the methodologic difficulties, including reverse causation due to latent disease and biases associated with collecting data for this rapidly fatal gastrointestinal cancer. Cohort studies with prediagnostic measures of exposures are less prone to these problems. Therefore, she has principally conducted her research using prospective data from DCEG cohorts, and through new pooled consortia efforts, including the international Genome Wide Association Study of Pancreatic Cancer (PanScan).

Keywords

Pancreatic adenocarimona, gastrointestinal cancers, colorectal cancer, alcohol, anthropometry, nutritional and molecular biomarkers, dietary factors (fat, fiber, fruits, vegetables), one-carbon metabolism, dietary intervention studies, dietary patterns, diet-gene interactions, genetic susceptibility, metabolomics

Selected Publications

• Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Albanes D, Nieto FJ, Hartman TJ, Tangrea JA, Rautalahti M, Sehlub J, Virtamo J, Taylor PR. Pancreatic cancer risk and nutrition-related methyl-group availability indicators in male smokers. J Natl Cancer Inst 1999 Mar 17;91(6):535-41.
• Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Blaser MJ, Limburg PJ, Perez-Perez G, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Albanes D; ATBC Study. Helicobacter pylori seropositivity as a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 2001 Jun 20;93(12):937-41.
• Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Dodd KW, Blaser MJ, Virtamo J, Taylor PR, Albanes D. Tooth loss, pancreatic cancer, and Helicobacter pylori. Am J Clin Nutr 2003 Jul;78(1):176-81.
• Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Graubard BI, Chari S, Limburg P, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Albanes D. Insulin, glucose, insulin resistance, and pancreatic cancer in male smokers. JAMA 2005 Dec 14;294(22):2872-8.
• Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Chang SC, Leitzmann MF, Johnson KA, Johnson C, Buys SS, Hoover RN, Ziegler RG. Folate intake, alcohol use, and postmenopausal breast cancer risk in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. Am J Clin Nutr 2006 Apr;83(4):895-904.
• Gunter MJ, Stolzenberg-Solomon R, Cross AJ, Leitzmann MF, Weinstein S, Wood RJ, Virtamo J, Taylor PR, Albanes D, Sinha R. A prospective study of serum C-reactive protein and colorectal cancer risk in men. Cancer Res 2006 Feb 15;66(4):2483-7.
• Bowers K, Albanes D, Limburg P, Pietinen P, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Stolzenberg-Solomon R. A prospective study of anthropometric and clinical measurements associated with insulin resistance syndrome and colorectal cancer in male smokers. Am J Epidemiol 2006 Oct 1;164(7):652-64.
• Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Vieth R, Azad A, Pietinen P, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Albanes D. A prospective nested case-control study of vitamin D status and pancreatic cancer risk in male smokers. Cancer Res 2006 Oct 15;66(20):10213-9.
• Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Fraumeni JF, Wideroff L, Albanes D, Curtis R. New malignancies following cancer of the upper digestive track excluding colorectal cancer. In: Curtis RE, Freedman DM, Ron E, Ries LAG, Hacker DG, Edwards BK, Tucker MA, Fraumeni JF Jr (eds). New Malignancies Among Cancer Survivors: SEER Cancer Registries, 1973-2000. National Cancer Institute. NIH Publ. No. 05-5302. Bethesda, MD, 2006; 59-110.
• Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Cross AJ, Silverman DT, Schairer C, Thompson FE, Kipnis V, Subar AF, Hollenbeck A, Schatzkin A, Sinha R. Meat and meat-mutagen intake and pancreatic cancer risk in the NIH-AARP cohort. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007 Dec;16(12):2664-75.
• Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Adams K, Leitzmann M, Schairer C, Michaud DS, Hollenbeck A, Schatzkin A, Silverman DT. Adiposity, physical activity, and pancreatic cancer in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Cohort. Am J Epidemiol 2008 Mar 1;167(5):586-97.
• Jiao L, Mitrou PN, Reedy J, Graubard BI, Hollenbeck AR, Schatzkin A, Stolzenberg-Solomon R. A combined healthy lifestyle score and risk of pancreatic cancer in a large cohort study. Arch Intern Med 2009 Apr 27;169(8):764-70.
• Jiao L, Silverman DT, Schairer C, Thiébaut AC, Hollenbeck AR, Leitzmann MF, Schatzkin A, Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ. Alcohol use and risk of pancreatic cancer: the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. Am J Epidemiol 2009 May 1;169(9):1043-51.
• Thiébaut AC, Jiao L, Silverman DT, Cross AJ, Thompson FE, Subar AF, Hollenbeck AR, Schatzkin A, Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ. Dietary fatty acids and pancreatic cancer in the NIH-AARP diet and health study. J Natl Cancer Inst 2009 Jul 15;101(14):1001-11.
• Lynch SM, Vrieling A, Lubin JH, Kraft P, Mendelsohn JB, Hartge P, Canzian F, Steplowski E, Arslan AA, Gross M, Helzlsouer K, Jacobs EJ, LaCroix A, Petersen G, Zheng W, Albanes D, Amundadottir L, Bingham SA, Boffetta P, Boutron-Ruault MC, Chanock SJ, Clipp S, Hoover RN, Jacobs K, Johnson KC, Kooperberg C, Luo J, Messina C, Palli D, Patel AV, Riboli E, Shu XO, Rodriguez Suarez L, Thomas G, Tjønneland A, Tobias GS, Tong E, Trichopoulos D, Virtamo J, Ye W, Yu K, Zeleniuch-Jacquette A, Bueno-de-Mesquita HB, Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ. Cigarette smoking and pancreatic cancer: a pooled analysis from the pancreatic cancer cohort consortium. Am J Epidemiol 2009 Aug 15;170(4):403-13.
• Amundadottir L, Kraft P, Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Fuchs CS, Petersen GM, Arslan AA, Bueno-de-Mesquita HB, Gross M, Helzlsouer K, Jacobs EJ, LaCroix A, Zheng W, Albanes D, Bamlet W, Berg CD, Berrino F, Bingham S, Buring JE, Bracci PM, Canzian F, Clavel-Chapelon F, Clipp S, Cotterchio M, de Andrade M, Duell EJ, Fox JW Jr, Gallinger S, Gaziano JM, Giovannucci EL, Goggins M, González CA, Hallmans G, Hankinson SE, Hassan M, Holly EA, Hunter DJ, Hutchinson A, Jackson R, Jacobs KB, Jenab M, Kaaks R, Klein AP, Kooperberg C, Kurtz RC, Li D, Lynch SM, Mandelson M, McWilliams RR, Mendelsohn JB, Michaud DS, Olson SH, Overvad K, Patel AV, Peeters PH, Rajkovic A, Riboli E, Risch HA, Shu XO, Thomas G, Tobias GS, Trichopoulos D, Van Den Eeden SK, Virtamo J, Wactawski-Wende J, Wolpin BM, Yu H, Yu K, Zeleniuch-Jacquotte A, Chanock SJ, Hartge P, Hoover RN. Genome-wide association study identifies variants in the ABO locus associated with susceptibility to pancreatic cancer. Nat Genet 2009 Sep;41(9):986-90.

Collaborators

DCEG Collaborators

• Christian Abnet, Ph.D., M.P.H.; Demetrius Albanes, M.D.; Laufey Amundadottir, Ph.D.; Stephen Chanock, M.D., Ph.D.; Amanda Cross, Ph.D.; Sandy Dawsey, M.D.; Roni Falk, M.S.; Neal Freedman; Barry Graubard; Trisha Hartge; Robert Hoover, M.D., Sc.D.; Kevin Jacobs, PhD.; Hormuzd Katki; Qing Lan, Ph.D.; Mark Purdue, Ph.D.; Nathaniel Rothman, M.D. M.P.H., M.S.; Catherine Schairer, Ph.D.; Arthur Schatzkin, M.D. Dr.P.H.; Rashmi Sinha, Ph.D.; Debra Silverman, Ph.D.; Philip Taylor, M.D., Sc.D.; Stephanie Weinstein, Ph.D.; Kai Yu, Ph.D.

Other NCI Collaborators

• Kevin Dodd, Ph.D.; Virginia Hartmuller, Ph.D.; Julie Mendelsohn, J.D. M.P.H.; Leah Sansbury, Ph.D.; Amy Subar, Ph.D.; Fran Thompson

Other Scientific Collaborators

• Larry Appel, M.D., M.P.H., Johns Hopkins University Medical School, Baltimore MD
• Christine Pfeiffer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
• Andrew Flood, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
• Charlie Fuchs, M.D., M.P.H., Harvard Medical School, MA
• Richard Hayes, D.D.S., Ph.D., M.P.H, New York University, NY
• Kathy Helzlsouer, M.D., M.H.S. , Mercy Medical Center and Johns Hopkins University
• Eric Jacobs, Ph.D., American Cancer Society, Atlanta Georgia
• Peter Kraft. Ph.D., Harvard School of Public Health
• Laurence Kolonel, M.D., Ph.D., University of Hawaii
• Pirjo Pietinen, Ph.D.; Jarmo Virtamo, M.D., and Satu Männistö National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland
• Martin Blaser, M.D. and Guillermo Perez-Perez, New York University Medical Center, NYC, NY
• Paul Limburg, M.D., M.P.H., Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
• Gloria Peterson, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
• Joel Mason, M.D. and Jacob Selhub, Ph.D., Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
• Dominique Michaud, Sc.D.; Brown University
• Michael Pollak, M.D., Ph.D., McGill University, Montreal, Canada
• Stephanie Smith-Warner, Ph.D.; Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
• Brian Wolpin, M.D., Harvard Medical School, MA