Breast Cancer

Cancer Survivorship Research Unit (CSRU)

DCEG researchers conduct studies on breast cancer, a cancer that usually forms in the breast ducts (tubes that carry milk to the nipple) and lobules (glands that make milk). Breast cancer occurs in both men and women, although male breast cancer is rare. Selected studies include:

Breast Cancer Among Asian Women

Portrait of happy senior woman in cycling helmet riding outdoors.

Activity, Metabolites, and Breast Cancer

Affected metabolites include glucose regulation, amino acid, and fatty acid metabolism

A study of breast cancer among Asian populations, including mainland China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, with the aim of identifying distinct molecular alterations in tumors and adjacent normal tissues and histologic images, and examining the associations of these molecular changes with risk factors, breast tissue composition and density, and breast cancer subtypes.

Breast Cancer Case-Control Study in Poland

A population-based case-control study of breast cancer in Poland that combines state-of-the-art techniques of exposure assessment and collection of biological specimens.

Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project Follow-up Study

A follow-up study of women who were participants in the Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project.

Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool Package

BCRA is an R package that projects absolute risk of invasive breast cancer according to NCI’s Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool (BCRAT) algorithm for specified race/ethnic groups and age intervals.

photograph of two Black women talking, a doctor and patient

PRS Improves Risk Prediction for Black Women

Breast cancer risk prediction improved with addition of a polygenic risk score.

Breast Cancer Tumor Characterization Studies

Large-scale molecular pathology studies to understand how genetic and environmental risk factors are related to breast cancer tumor features and clinical progression.

Breast Density Research in DCEG

Mammographic breast density (MBD) is one of the strongest risk factors for breast cancer in women. Over the past several decades, DCEG has developed an interdisciplinary research program to unravel the epidemiologic, molecular, and pathologic underpinnings of MBD.

Breast Radiology Evaluation and Study of Tissues (BREAST) Stamp Project

The BREAST study aims to characterize the radiologic, histologic, and molecular features of dense breast tissue.

Columbia, Missouri Serum Bank Follow-up Study

A study established as part of the NCI Biological Markers Project to identify serum markers for breast cancer.

Confluence Project

The Confluence Project will develop a large research resource by 2020 to uncover breast cancer genetics through genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The resource will include at least 300,000 breast cancer cases and 300,000 controls of different races/ethnicities. This will be accomplished by the confluence of existing GWAS and new genome-wide genotyping data generated through this project.

Ghana Breast Health Study

The Ghana Breast Health Study is a multidisciplinary case-control study of breast cancer in Ghana, West Africa.

Hong Kong Breast Cancer Genomics Study

A healthcare provider checks the heart rate of a patient with a stethoscope. They are both Black women.

Geographic Disparities in Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Risk Among Breast Cancer Survivors

Dr. Jacqueline Vo led this study on county-level factors, including socioeconomic status.

The Hong Kong Breast Cancer Genomics Study aims to characterize the genomic and molecular profiles of breast cancer tumors and adjacent normal tissue collected from Chinese breast cancer patients in Hong Kong.

Kaiser Permanente Breast Cancer Survivor Cohort

The study was initiated in 2011 as a transdisciplinary resource to investigate the risk of second cancer and cardiovascular disease. Co-principal investigators Gretchen Gierach and Jacqueline Vo collaborate with experts from the Integrative Tumor Epidemiology, Radiation Epidemiology, and Biostatistics Branches, the Cancer Survivorship Research Unit, and investigators at multiple Kaiser Permanente Study Centers.

Kenya Breast Cancer Study

The Kenya Breast Cancer Study utilizes molecular and genomic approaches to study breast tumors and tumor microenvironment, among African women. This study aims to improve understanding of breast cancer risk factors and corresponding clinical outcomes in this population.

Outdoor Air Pollution and Terminal Duct Lobular Involution of the Normal Breast

Emission to atmosphere from industrial factory chimney. Smokestack pipes shot with drone. Aerial view.

PM2.5 Linked to Breast Cancer Incidence

Study relied on historical air pollution levels in NIH-AARP Diet & Health Study

A study investigating the association between exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) and terminal duct lobular involution (TDLU) of the normal breast.

Terminal Duct Lobular Unit Involution of the Normal Breast

Molecular epidemiologic study of terminal duct lobular units of the normal breast, conducted in collaboration with the Susan G. Komen® Tissue Bank.

Ultrasound Study of the Effects of Tamoxifen on Breast Tissue

Dr. Gretchen Gierach in the Integrative Tumor Epidemiology Branch and collaborators in the Cancer Survivorship Research Unit, at the Karmanos Cancer Institute, and the University of Toronto, are using ultrasound tomography to define the time course of volumetric breast density changes among women receiving tamoxifen treatment.