DCEG News Updates
The latest news and research findings from the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics.
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Low-dose radiation exposure linked to leukemia in large retrospective study
Using data from nine historical cohort studies, investigators in the Radiation Epidemiology Branch and colleagues from other institutions, led by senior investigator Mark Little, D.Phil., were able to quantify—for the first time—excess risk for leukemia and other myeloid malignancies following low-dose exposure to ionizing radiation in childhood.
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Coffee consumption and mortality risk: A look at the effect of genetic variation in caffeine metabolism in the UK Biobank
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute evaluated the coffee-drinking habits of nearly half a million people, using demographic, lifestyle, and genetic data from the UK Biobank, to determine whether genetic variation in caffeine metabolism affects associations between coffee drinking and mortality risk. The investigators confirmed previous studies showing an inverse association between coffee drinking and mortality during the study period and found similar associations in participants with genetic variants conveying both faster and slower caffeine metabolism.
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Pfeiffer Delivers Mildred Scheel Lecture
Ruth Pfeiffer, Ph.D., senior investigator in the Biostatistics Branch, delivered the 8th Mildred Scheel Lecture in Heidelberg, Germany, titled, “Breast Cancer Risk Model Requirements for Counseling, Prevention, and Screening.” 2018
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Dr. Gary Wu Delivers 2018 Arthur Schatzkin Distinguished Lecture in Nutritional Epidemiology
Dr. Gary Wu of the University of Pennsylvania delivered the sixth Arthur Schatzkin Distinguished Lecture in Nutritional Epidemiology, entitled “Diet, the Gut Microbiome, and its Metabolome in Health and Disease.”
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2018 DCEG Intramural Research Awards
DCEG Intramural Research Awards (IRAs) are competitive funding opportunities designed to foster creative, high-impact research by fellows and tenure-track investigators. Proposals are evaluated on their potential for significant scientific or public health impact, innovation, interdisciplinary nature, ability to achieve the objectives within the proposed time frames and with the proposed resources, and programmatic relevance to DCEG’s mission.
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DCEG's Spring Town Hall Meeting 2018
In June 2018, DCEG Director Stephen Chanock, M.D., welcomed staff to the spring town hall meeting to talk about new developments in the Division, and to recognize accomplishments over the past six months. He gave special tribute to staff who have made substantial scientific contributions and service to the Division.
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DCEG Seminar on the Fourth Edition of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention
On June 6, 2018, DCEG hosted a half-day session with several editors and contributors to the fourth edition of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention, published by Oxford University Press in November 2017.
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Winners Announced for the 2018 DCEG Informatics Tool Challenge
DCEG announced six winners of the 2018 DCEG Informatics Tool Challenge, a competitive funding program that supports innovation to enhance epidemiological methods, data collection, analysis, and other research using modern technology and informatics.
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Circulating Levels of Vitamin D Associated with Colorectal Cancer Risk
A new international study by scientists from the American Cancer Society, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the National Cancer Institute, and more than 20 other medical centers and organizations finds that higher circulating vitamin D concentrations are significantly associated with lower colorectal cancer risk.
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Analgesic Use and Ovarian Cancer Risk: An Analysis in the Ovarian Cancer Cohort Consortium
In a new study, DCEG researchers and collaborators analyzed data from 13 studies in the Ovarian Cancer Cohort Consortium (OC3) in order to prospectively investigate associations of analgesic use with ovarian cancer risk. They found that women under the age of 70 who use aspirin (or non-aspirin NSAIDS) daily or almost daily for at least six months have a ~10 percent lower risk of developing ovarian cancer than women who use it infrequently or not at all.
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Death Before Old Age: Untangling Premature Mortality in the U.S.
DCEG scientists are spearheading the Premature Mortality Project—an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional effort to characterize U.S. trends in premature mortality. In the process, the team has uncovered distinct mortality trends by race/ethnicity, age, and region, and provided crucial information on the drug overdose epidemic.
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OncoArray Links Dozens of DNA Variants to Risk for Common Cancers
Over the last decade, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have begun to identify common inherited genetic differences, or variants, that influence disease risk. Now, researchers with the NCI-supported GAME-ON initiative and OncoArray Network are on their way to completing the latest round of cutting-edge studies of inherited risk factors.
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Margaret Tucker Retires from DCEG
In June 2018, Margaret Tucker, M.D., Director of the DCEG Human Genetics Program, retired after 40 years of service to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
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Shifting Lung Cancer Burden in the US
Researchers at the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute confirmed that lung cancer incidence among younger non-Hispanic whites and Hispanic whites born since the mid-1960s is higher in women than men.
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Tenth Annual Fellows' Training Symposium, 2018
The 10th annual DCEG Fellows’ Symposium was held on March 16, 2018 on the NIH main campus. The theme for this year’s symposium was “Defining Cancer Risk: Does G (Genetics) × E (Environment) = Me”. The symposium included three guest speakers, two poster sessions, and an interactive roundtable covering various career topics.
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Sharon Savage Appointed DCEG Clinical Director
Dr. Sharon Savage, Chief, Clinical Genetics Branch, has been named as the new Clinical Director for DCEG. In this role she will ensure patient safety, research integrity, and responsible stewardship of research funding for all DCEG clinical activities.
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Which risk models perform best in selecting ever-smokers for lung cancer screening?
A new analysis by scientists at NCI evaluates nine different individualized lung cancer risk prediction models based on their selections of ever-smokers for computed tomography (CT) lung cancer screening.
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DCEG Fellows Present at the 2018 NIH Postbac Poster Day
Postbaccalaureate fellows in DCEG presented scientific posters at the May 2018 NIH Postbac Poster Day, sponsored by the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education.
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Robert Burk Gives Inaugural Wacholder Lecture
In April 2018, DCEG welcomed Robert Burk, M.D., as the inaugural Sholom Wacholder Distinguished Lecturer in Quantitative Health Sciences. The lectureship is named in memory of Dr. Sholom Wacholder, who worked at the intersection of quantitative reasoning and science.
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Nicolas Wentzensen Receives ASCCP Distinguished Scientific Award
Nicolas Wentzensen Receives ASCCP's highest honor for his role in leading the Colposcopy Standards project. This important work will have immediate and lasting benefits for the millions of women in the United States and around the world who undergo cervical cancer screening.