DCEG Welcomes Visiting Scholars Drs. Kolonel and Fontham

DCEG welcomed two leading epidemiologists in the fall of 2009 as part of its Visiting Scholars Program. In September, Dr. Laurence N. Kolonel, Deputy Director of the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, was recognized for his leadership and vision in epidemiology, particularly in the areas of racial and ethnic health disparities. In December, Dr. Elizabeth Fontham, a professor of epidemiology and Dean of the Louisiana State University (LSU) School of Public Health, was honored for her contributions to cancer epidemiology and public health. Initiated in 2004, the Visiting Scholars Program promotes intramural-extramural scientific collaboration and idea-sharing through intensive two-day visits that include a keynote seminar, scientific roundtables and discussions, one-on-one meetings, and sessions with DCEG fellows and women scientists.

Dr. Kolonel received an M.D. from Harvard Medical School and, following an internship at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center at Mt. Zion Hospital, he obtained an M.P.H. and Ph.D. in epidemiology at the University of California, Berkeley. After serving as an epidemiologist in the United States Air Force, Dr. Kolonel joined the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii in 1974 and developed a comprehensive research program on the role of diet and nutrition in cancer etiology. Many of his studies were designed to clarify reasons for the disparities in cancer incidence among the ethnic and racial groups in Hawaii as well as explain the changing patterns of cancer among migrant populations from Asia.

For the past 16 years, Dr. Kolonel has been a principal investigator of the NCI-supported Multiethnic Cohort Study. This landmark study, established in Hawaii and Los Angeles, California during 1993 to 1996, is composed of more than 215,000 men and women, including those of African, Asian, Latino, Native Hawaiian, and Caucasian ancestry. It is unique among existing population cohort studies in its ethnic diversity and representation of minorities.

In his Visiting Scholar seminar titled “Prostate cancer etiology: What do we really know?” Dr. Kolonel outlined the epidemiologic characteristics of prostate cancer, including the rising incidence with advancing age; the tendency to familial occurrence; the extraordinarily high incidence of latent tumors; and the striking racial variation, with relatively high rates in African Americans and low rates in Asian Americans. The available evidence for dietary risk factors was a particular focus of his lecture, but attention was also given to recent results from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and the role of inflammation and metabolic changes as etiologic mechanisms. He concluded his talk by stressing the importance of looking at gene-environment interactions through molecular epidemiology.

During the remainder of his visit, which was hosted by Rashmi Sinha, Ph.D., Nutritional Epidemiology Branch (NEB), Dr. Kolonel attended a series of discussions focusing on the nutritional epidemiology of cancer, epigenetic variation in mediating cancer risk, risk factors for prostate cancer, the association between meat consumption and the risks for certain cancers, and the future of multiethnic and minority-based cohort studies. These sessions were moderated, respectively, by DCEG scientists Arthur Schatzkin, M.D., Dr.P.H. (NEB), Mitchell H. Gail, M.D., Ph.D., Biostatistics Branch (BB), Christian C. Abnet, Ph.D., M.P.H. (NEB), Lee E. Moore, Ph.D., Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch (OEEB), Demetrius Albanes, M.D. (NEB), Ann W. Hsing, Ph.D., Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch, Amanda J. Cross, Ph.D. (NEB), Rachael Stolzenberg-Solomon, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D. (NEB), and Robert N. Hoover, M.D., Sc.D., Director of the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program. Dr. Kolonel also participated in a meeting of DCEG Women Scientists, where principal investigators, staff scientists/clinicians, and fellows discussed topics related to mentoring and career advancement.

Joseph F. Fraumeni, Jr., M.D., DCEG Director, applauded Dr. Kolonel’s contributions to cancer research and for his service on important national and international committees, including the NCI Board of Scientific Counselors. About his visit, Dr. Kolonel commented, “It was a great pleasure to meet with NCI colleagues to discuss the common issues we face and the priorities for future research in cancer epidemiology and prevention.”

DCEG Visiting Scholar Dr. Fontham received a doctorate in epidemiology at Tulane University’s School of Public Health and later joined the Department of Pathology at the LSU School of Medicine, where she rose to the rank of professor. Since 2004, she has been dean of the LSU School of Public Health. She has led research on a broad range of cancer risk factors, making major contributions to genetic and environmental epidemiology. Her current work focuses on etiologic studies of gastric cancer, a multicenter study of prognostic indicators of prostate cancer in African American and Caucasian men, and genetic and environment interactions influencing pancreatic cancer. She serves as the Immediate Past President of the American Cancer Society, is on the board of the Louisiana Cancer and Health Foundation, and has had many leadership positions in professional organizations. “The combination of research, education, and service that Dr. Fontham has provided has been extremely important to this country and the world,” Dr. Fraumeni stated. The topic of her Visiting Scholar Seminar was “Association of Helicobacter pylori infection and the cancers of specific organs.”

Dr. Fontham began the lecture with a history of H. pylori research and its relationship to gastric cancer as a “co-carcinogenic” factor. H. pylori infection is prevalent among 50 percent of the world’s population and is linked to socioeconomic status. It is characterized by person-to-person transmission, especially among young children in crowded living situations. She pointed out the many questions about the risks associated with non-cardia gastric cancers and MALT lymphoma as well as possible relationships to esophageal, hepatocellular, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers. She stressed that bacterial virulence, genetic susceptibility, and inflammatory responses play major roles in cancer risk. Dr. Fontham indicated areas for further research, including epidemiologic and mechanistic questions about the potential association with non-gastric cancers.

During the remainder of her visit, which was hosted by Michael C.R. Alavanja, Dr.P.H. (OEEB), and Debra T. Silverman, Sc.D., Chief of OEEB, Dr. Fontham met with investigators from DCEG and participated in a series of roundtable discussions. H. Dean Hosgood, III, Ph.D. (OEEB), and Dr. Alavanja moderated a session on recent developments in lung cancer epidemiology. Catherine Schairer, Ph.D. (BB), led a roundtable discussion of data related to recommendations for breast mammography screening for women ages 40–49. This was followed by a discussion led by William F. Anderson, M.D., M.P.H. (BB), on cancer surveillance and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registries. Dr. Fontham also met with the Upper G.I. Working Group in a discussion led by Neal D. Freedman, Ph.D., M.P.H. (NEB). Dr. Fontham spoke about the carcinogenicity of nitrates and other environmental pollutants in a meeting hosted by Mary H. Ward, Ph.D. (OEEB). Dr. Stolzenberg-Solomon hosted a discussion on pancreatic cancer, including its relation to ABO blood type, H. pylori, and environmental and nutritional risk factors. Dr. Fontham also met with DCEG fellows during a brown-bag lunch hosted by Jackie Lavigne, Ph.D., M.P.H., Chief of DCEG’s Office of Education, and participated in an OEEB fellows’ roundtable hosted by Gabriella Andreotti, Ph.D. (OEEB). In addition, the DCEG Women Scientists Advisors hosted a lunch with Dr. Fontham, where the discussion centered on the topic of leadership development of mid- and senior-level women scientists.

Dr. Fontham concluded her visit by thanking DCEG staff and scientists. “It’s been a pleasure to meet with the special mix of scientists gathered in DCEG. It has been nice to see old friends and familiar faces.”

Following each Visiting Scholar Seminar, Dr. Fraumeni presented Dr. Kolonel and Dr. Fontham with DCEG Visiting Scholar Awards in recognition of their major scientific accomplishments.

—Alexandra Ekblom, M.P.H.

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