DCEG News Updates
The latest news and research findings from the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics.
-
Environmental Pollutant, PFOA, Associated with Increased Risk of Kidney Cancer
Jonathan Hofmann, Ph.D., and collaborators find that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is associated with increased risk of kidney cancer in a prospective population-based U.S. cohort.
-
Mortality Following Chemotherapy for Hodgkin Lymphoma
Investigators in the Radiation Epidemiology Branch assessed the current cause-specific mortality following chemotherapy for classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) in the largest population-based study of more than 20,000 individuals diagnosed with cHL during 2000-2015, an era reflecting contemporary treatment approaches.
-
Barry Graubard recognized with the 2020 American Statistical Association Mentoring Award
Over his forty-year career, Dr. Graubard has mentored countless young statisticians and epidemiologists, sharing his intelligence and enthusiasm for statistics with unbounded generosity.
-
Jill Koshiol Awarded Scientific Tenure by the NIH
Dr. Jill Koshiol was awarded scientific tenure by the NIH and promoted to senior investigator in the Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch in September 2020.
-
ACS’s Updated Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines Explained
Routine cervical cancer screening is very effective for preventing cervical cancer and deaths from the disease. On July 30, the American Cancer Society (ACS) published an updated guideline for cervical cancer screening. The guideline’s recommendations differ in a few ways from ACS’s prior recommendations and those of other groups. Nicolas Wentzensen, M.D., Ph.D., explains the changes in an interview on the NCI Cancer Currents blog.
-
Remembering Joseph Scotto, Former DCEG Biostatistician
Joseph Scotto, M.S., retired NCI biostatistician and epidemiologist, passed away on August 5, 2020, at the age of 81. Mr. Scotto applied his expertise in statistics toward the development of population-based studies of skin cancer and provided a model for evaluating and mitigating threats to public health that may be posed by climate change.
-
Patterns in “Deaths of Despair” Vary by Geography and Demographics
Meredith Shiels and colleagues investigated whether patterns and trends in mortality from drug poisoning, suicide and alcohol-induced deaths varied by different geographic and demographic factors in 2000-2017. The findings were published in JAMA Network Open on September 11, 2020.
-
Erikka Loftfield Selected as Earl Stadtman Investigator
Erikka Loftfield was selected as an Earl Stadtman tenure-track investigator in the Metabolic Epidemiology Branch (MEB) in April 2020. Dr. Loftfield will develop an integrative research program investigating the interplay between diet, metabolism, the microbiome and genetics to advance current understanding of the relationship between diet and cancer.
-
2020 Fellows' Symposium Focused on Research in Underrepresented Populations
The twelfth annual DCEG Fellows’ Symposium was held virtually on July 2, 2020. The theme for this year was “Mine the Gap: Research in Underrepresented Populations,” and explored the challenges in health disparities among underrepresented populations and the role of research in closing the gap.
-
Rashmi Sinha Receives Fred P. Li Impact Award at AACR 2020
Rashmi Sinha, Ph.D., received the Fred P. Li Impact Award for her article, “Collecting Fecal Samples for Microbiome Analyses in Epidemiology Studies,” at the annual AACR meeting in 2020.
-
Martha Linet and Annelie Landgren Receive Constance L. Percy Award for Contribution to Virtual Pooled Registry Cancer Linkage System
Martha Linet and Annelie Landgren received the Constance L. Percy Award for Distinguished Service in recognition of their work on the Virtual Pooled Registry Cancer Linkage System.
-
2020 Winners of the DCEG Informatics Tool Challenge
Six projects were funded through the 2020 DCEG Informatics Tool Challenge, a competitive program to support innovative approaches to epidemiological methods, data collection, analysis, and other research efforts using modern technology and informatics.
-
Higher Intake of Plant Protein Compared to Animal Protein Associated with Lower Mortality
Jiaqi Huang and Demetrius Albanes in the Metabolic Epidemiology Branch analyzed the dietary intake of over 400,000 participants from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study and found that greater intake of plant protein rather than animal protein was associated with lower overall and cardiovascular disease mortality.
-
Low Dose Ionizing Radiation Shown to Cause Cancer in Review of 26 Studies
Amy Berrington and colleagues conducted a systematic bias assessment and meta-analysis of 26 studies of low dose ionizing radiation. In a JNCI monograph published July 2020, they report a dose-response and statistically significant cancer risk for solid tumors and leukemia.
-
Genetic Architecture Study of 14 Cancers Describes Contribution of Common Variants
Montserrat García-Closas and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University and multiple consortia for 14 cancers showed that the utility of polygenic risk scores can vary widely depending on cancer type.
-
Resources from Radiation Epidemiology & Dosimetry Course Now Available
Video recordings and slides from the 2019 Radiation Epidemiology and Dosimetry Course are available online. The course covers the fundamentals of the health effects of radiation exposure, including methods of exposure assessment, and key findings from the latest studies of medical, occupational, and environmental radiation exposures.
-
2020 Virtual AACR Annual Meeting Features DCEG Research
Investigators and fellows presented their research and engaged virtually at the annual scientific meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
-
Artificial Intelligence Dual-Stain Approach Improved Accuracy, Efficiency of Cervical Cancer Screening
Nicolas Wentzensen and colleagues developed a computer algorithm to improve the accuracy and efficiency of cervical cancer screening compared with cytology, the current standard for follow-up of women who test positive with primary HPV screening. The new approach has clear implications for clinical care.
-
Robert Hoover Retires Leaving a Legacy of Cancer Epidemiology Research
In June 2020, Dr. Robert Hoover, Director of the Epidemiology and Biostatistics program, retired from the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics after a remarkable 48 years of service to the National Cancer Institute.
-
Nondaily and Low-Intensity Smoking Associated with Increased Risk of Death
Maki Inoue-Choi and collaborators found that nondaily smoking increases risk of death from any cause, compared to both former smokers and never smokers.