Yale

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Director

Richard L. Edelson, MD

Deputy Director, Administration

Nancy Scanlon

Associate Director,

Public Affairs and Marketing

Renee Gaudette

Contributing Writer

Jill Max

Design

Beth Crowell

Cheung/Crowell Design

Yale-New Haven Hospital

Yale University School of Medicine

P.O. Box 208028

New Haven, CT 06520-8028

www.yalecancercenter.org

A Comprehensive Cancer Center Designated by the National Cancer Institute

Spring 2006

In the search for possible causesof cancer, environmental factorshave received a lot of attention inrecent years as plausible culprits.Yet the link between the environ-ment and cancer remains difficultto prove. Researchers at YaleCancer Center, however, are determined to under-stand our environment’s effect on our health, andthey are pursuing innovative ways of doing it.

One of the major obstacles in pinpointing howenvironmental influences may cause cancer is thatit’s often very difficult to define a person’s exposure.A patient diagnosed with cancertoday may have been exposeddecades ago to an environmentaltoxin. In addition, exposure to envi-ronmental toxins often affects only asmall number of people, as is thecase with industrial toxins at wastesites. Even the population that’saffected may be difficult to deter-mine. In most situations, people donot even know that they have beenexposed to certain environmentalhazards. “Studying environmentalexposure and disease is difficultbecause often you cannot defineexposure, you have a small popula-

Breast Cancer Patients Nurture One AnotherT H R O U G H T R E A T M E N T A N D B E Y O N D

C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 4

Environmental Influences on Cancer R E S E A R C H E R S L O O K T O D E T E R M I N E T H E L I N K

When Sara Kaluzynski and SusanKrozer underwent chemotherapyfor breast cancer last year at YaleCancer Center, they knew theywould receive the best possiblemedical care. What they didn’tknow was that the start of theirtreatment would also mark thebeginning of an enduring friend-ship full of laughter and hope thatwould sustain them through theirdarkest hours.

It was an ordinary Sunday inFebruary 2005 when Sara, a mid-dle school teacher in Stratford whowas then 34, discovered a lump inher left breast while she was tak-

tion, you do not know exactlywhat exposure time is biological-ly meaningful, and the relation-ship between environmentalexposure and disease is oftenweak,” said Tongzhang Zheng,ScD, Professor of Epidemiology

and Public Health and Head of the Division ofEnvironmental Health Sciences at Yale School ofPublic Health.

Nonetheless, Zheng has been hard at work tryingto tease out the effects of various environmental fac-tors on cancer. One of his well known studies, pub-

lished in 2004, involved the rela-tionship between hair dye and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Zheng andhis colleagues conducted a six-yearcase-control study among womenwho had non-Hodgkin’s lymphomaand had used hair coloring products,comparing them to healthy womenof the same age and ethnicity. Theyfound that women who used per-manent dark hair dye for more than25 years and started before 1980had more than twice the risk ofdeveloping the disease than thosewho had never colored their hair.The fact that the increased risk was

Researchers at Yale Cancer

Center are determined to

understand our environment’s

effect on our health.

ing a shower. After undergoing alumpectomy, she was shocked tolearn that she had cancer andwould need further treatment.Following a mastectomy, medicaloncologist Gina Chung, MD,recommended eight rounds ofchemotherapy over a 16-weekperiod. Sara knew that undergo-ing chemo was necessary for herto win her battle against cancer,but the day she began treatment,she was on an emotional rollercoaster that left her sobbing andshaky. That was the exactmoment that she met Sue, 43, aregistered nurse at Orange Health

Care Center, who was beginningan identical treatment regimenunder the care of MichaelDiGiovanna, MD, PhD.

Whether it was their sharedvulnerability or an incredible strokeof luck, something drew the twowomen together. Sara noticedthat Sue and her husband Johnseemed to be as nervous as shefelt, while Sue noticed that Sarahad shaved her head (she donatedher hair to Locks of Love) andassumed she had already startedtreatment. They sat next to eachother and struck up a conversation,

Sara and Sue have remained good friends following

their treatment.

Sue and Sara during one of their many treatment visits to Yale last year.

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Dr. Tongzhang Zheng, Head of the Division of

Environmental Health Sciences.

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C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 6

Dr. John R. Murren

Agreement Reached on Cancer Center Building

After months of negotiations between Yale-NewHaven Hospital and the City of New Haven, anagreement was reached on March 22nd clear-ing the way for the new cancer center to be builtadjacent to Yale-New Haven Hospital.

“The new building will be an exciting enhance-ment of our facilities at the Yale-New HavenMedical Center. It will allow us to improveupon patient care with fully integrated servic-es,” Dr. Richard L. Edelson, Director of YaleCancer Center, said.

The new comprehensive cancer center build-ing will combine all diagnostic and treatmentservices for cancer patients into one 14-story,$430 million building that would be located onthe corner of Park Street and North FrontageRoad. The building will include 112 inpatientbeds, outpatient treatment rooms, expandedoperating rooms, infusion suites, diagnosticimaging services and a floor each for diagnos-tic imaging and therapeutic radiology. A spe-cialized Women's Cancer Center, including theYale-New Haven Breast Center and the GYNOncology Center, will be located on the build-ing's first floor.

The facility will be the most modern and com-prehensive cancer care facility in the Northeast.Site preparation for the new cancer center build-ing has already begun, and construction isexpected to begin in September.

For more information and the latest updates onthe progress of the building, please visitwww.yalecancercenter.org

Yale Cancer Cente’s quarterly newsletter is written to inform the public and the Center's friends, volunteers,donors, and staff on current items of interest at Yale Cancer Center. All inquiries should be addressed to theYale Cancer Center Public Affairs Office, 135 College Street, Suite 200, New Haven, CT 06510-2483. YaleCancer Center complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996.

In Memoriam: John R. Murren, MD

Clinic, and was Yale’s leader in thedevelopment of phase I and II clinicaltrials. John played a critical role asCo-Director of the DevelopmentalTherapeutics Program and AssociateDirector of the Phase I TranslationalResearch Program, two key positionsin the clinical investigations efforts ofYale Cancer Center.

In addition to his major responsi-bilities at Yale, John was the catalystand inspiration for the developmentof the nonprofit Nevada CancerInstitute, founded by John’s brotherJim, president and chief financial offi-cer of MGM Mirage and Jim’s wife,Heather. Due to their vision, resi-dents of Southern Nevada no longerhave to travel outside the region toreceive state-of-the-art care or treat-ment on clinical trials. Although theCenter only recently opened, thirtyclinical trials are now actively accru-ing patients.

John was recognized nationally andinternationally for his work. He servedon the Clinical Research Subcommitteeof the American Association of CancerResearch and the American Collegeof Surgeons Cancer Committee. Healso served as the Co-Chair of NovelTherapeutics for the AmericanAssociation of Cancer ResearchNational Meeting in 2001, and he wasa member of the Research GrantsCouncil in Hong Kong.

John was the consummate aca-demic medical oncologist. In additionto providing unsurpassed care, hehad an active laboratory and was con-sidered an outstanding teacher androle model for the many fellows hementored. In addition to John’sexpertise, his patients benefited fromhis warmth, compassion, and gen-uine joy when seeing them.

John was perhaps best knownaround the medical center for hisradiant smile, quick wit, and kind-ness. To those who worked closelywith John in the Section of MedicalOncology, he will be remembered asan astute clinician, a creative and inno-vative scientist, but most of all as akind gentleman sincerely devoted tohis patients, family, and friends.

A rendering of the new clinical cancer center. John will be remembered as an

astute clinician, a creative and inno-

vative scientist, but most of all as a

kind gentleman sincerely devoted to

his patients, family, and friends.

Dr. John R. Murren died December 28,2005 of metastatic melanoma at theage of 47. John had been at Yale since1988 when he entered the fellowshipprogram in the Section of MedicalOncology. Following his postdoctoraltraining, he was appointed to the fac-

ulty of the Yale School of Medicinewhere he was an Associate Professorat the time of his death.

John grew up in Fairfield, wherehe attended Roger Ludlowe HighSchool. He earned a B.A. inChemistry at Duke University andthen attended medical school atLoyola-Stritch School of Medicine inChicago. He did his internship, resi-dency, and chief residency in InternalMedicine at St. Vincent’s Hospital inNew York.

John was an exceptional medicaloncologist with widely recognizedexpertise in lung cancer, soft tissuesarcoma, neuroendocrine tumors,and the development of new drugsand drug combinations. Since 1992,he received continuous NIH fundingto study new therapies in lung can-cer. During his career, John heldseveral important leadership posi-tions in the Section of MedicalOncology and at Yale Cancer Center.He was the Director of the YaleMedical Oncology Outpatient Center,the Director of the Lung Cancer

John was an exceptional medical

oncologist with widely recognized

expertise in lung cancer, soft tissue

sarcoma, neuroendocrine tumors,

and the development of new drugs

and drug combinations.

YCC and CT Hospice Collaborate P R O V I D I N G C O M P A S S I O N A T E , C O M P R E H E N S I V E C A R E

When it opened its doors in 1974, theConnecticut Hospice pioneered thehospice movement in the UnitedStates by establishing an unparalleledmodel of home care for patients withcancer and other diseases. Today, itcontinues to develop the kind of inter-disciplinary approach and support thatpatients across the state have come torely upon.

Consisting of five home careoffices statewide and a palliativehospital located in Branford, CT,Connecticut Hospice offers medicaland nursing care, social work, arts

therapy, physical therapy, massagetherapy, spiritual care, and volunteervisits, all of which are coordinated toprovide the highest quality of life possi-ble to patients with irreversible illnessesand their families. “By collaboratingwith Connecticut Hospice, physiciansat Yale Cancer Center still help to pro-vide the very best care to patients whoare terminally ill,” said Kenneth Miller,MD, Director of Supportive Care at YaleCancer Center and associate medicaldirector of Connecticut Hospice.“Patients can be relieved of theirsymptoms as much as possible, bemade comfortable, and are able tofocus on things that are most impor-tant to them and their families.”

Hospice staff visit approximately350 patients at home each day as partof a program individually tailored toeach patient’s needs and desires andcoordinated with families, family physi-

cians, community health agencies,and hospice team members. For can-cer patients who have completedtherapeutic treatment in a hospital andare ready to return home, the CANSUPPORT program offers a seamlesstransition to continue their plan of carein the home environment. Patientswho need extra support may bereferred to the 52 bed inpatient hospi-tal. Here the hospice team attends totheir physical, emotional, and spiritualneeds, while allowing them completeaccess to family members and evenpets. Patients have a water view fromtheir windows and for those whochoose to take in the sea breezes onthe terrace, their beds can be movedoutside.

The Connecticut Hospice wasestablished more than thirty years agoin order to address a lack of compre-hensive patient and family driven careand support for people at the end oftheir lives for as long as they needed it,according to Marilyn C. Pellet, BSN, JDwho is the hospice’s director of ethics.It has not only amply fulfilled thatpromise over the years, it has growninto an organization that continues torefine an approach to interdisciplinarycare that is renowned throughout thecountry, taking advantage of ties withnumerous other institutions, amongthem Yale Cancer Center and YaleSchool of Medicine, with whom it hascollaborated since 1986. Althoughhospice continues to provide patientswho are at the end of their lives withthe gold standard in palliative care, it isnot just for the dying. “The hospiceexperience does not invite death,” saidRosemary Johnson-Hürzeler, RN,MPH, HA, President and C.E.O. ofConnecticut Hospice and the HospiceInstitute for Education, Training andResearch. “In fact, it invites the oppo-site. It invites comfort, healing, hope,good days, and good months.”

Many people believe that hospice

Perhaps the biggest barrier to

patients using hospice services are

the patients and families them-

selves, who tend to underestimate

how positive an impact hospice can

have on quality of life.

Connecticut Hospice on the shores of the Long Island Sound in Branford, CT.

C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 5

Celebrating Survivors:Share your Story

Yale Cancer Center is redesigning our website tofocus on cancer survivorship and to showcasethe inspiration our patients show us every day. Ifyou would like to share your story of hope and tellother cancer survivors how you live each day tothe fullest, we would love to hear from you.Please email us at healthline@yale.edu or call1-888-234-4YCC.

Carolyn Deal, President, Bill Raveis, CEO, andCandy Raveis of William Raveis Real Estate visitwith Dr. Alan Garen, the recipient of the 2006Raveis Exceptional Project Award from theBreast Cancer Alliance. Mary Ann Henry,Executive Director of the Breast Cancer Alliancejoins them at right.

John Dolishny and Jessica Cini present a check tothe Yale-New Haven Breast Center to fund patientbags, which will provide new patients with infor-mation about their treatment. Tanger Outlet Centerin Westbrook, CT raised money to support patientswith breast cancer receiving treatment at Yalethroughout Breast Cancer Awareness month inOctober by selling bracelets to customers. Mr.Dolishny and Ms. Cini are pictured with Dr. TeresaPonn, Associate Director for Breast Surgery, andDr. Donald Lannin, Executive Director of the Yale-New Haven Breast Center.

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Yale Cancer Center is broadcasting

“Healthline,” a weekly radio program that

airs from 8:30-9:00 a.m. every Sunday

morning on WTIC NewsTalk 1080 AM.

Healthline is co-hosted by Yale Cancer

Center oncologists, Dr. Edward Chu,

Chief of Medical Oncology, and Dr.

Kenneth Miller, Director of Supportive

Care. Each week they are joined by a

different cancer specialist, bringing the

innovation and expertise of Yale Cancer

Center to all of Connecticut.

“Healthline was created to provide

patients and their families with help and

hope to sustain them in their fight against

cancer,” Dr. Miller explained. “The help

comes from experts at Yale Cancer

Center who are working to develop new and better treatments. The hope comes from

our doctors, nurses, and staff whose knowledge and compassion are helping to win

the battle against cancer, one patient at a time.”

Myths, facts and advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment are discussed, with

a different focus each week. Nationally acclaimed specialists in various types of

cancer research, diagnosis, and treatment discuss common misconceptions about the

disease and respond to questions from the community.

Recent and coming broadcasts include breast, prostate, lung and colon cancer,

melanoma, non-traditional and complementary herbal therapies and tips for survivors.

Each program includes a fact-packed “Medical Minute” and the “Survivor Story” of a

Connecticut resident.

“A central component of Yale Cancer Center’s mission is education and outreach

to the residents in the State,” said Dr. Richard L. Edelson, Director of Yale Cancer

Center. “The weekly radio broadcast of Healthline provides a unique resource for can-

cer patients and their families to learn about the latest clinical advances available to

them. We are extremely pleased to be able to offer this new program and bring hope

to so many of our neighbors.”

Listeners can submit questions to healthline@yale.edu to be answered on the pro-

gram or by leaving a message at 1-888-234-4YCC. As a resource, archived programs

are available in downloadable MP3 format from the Yale Cancer Center website at

www.yalecancercenter.org.

establishing a pattern that would continue for thenext four months.

Originally diagnosed in 1999, this was Sue’ssecond bout with breast cancer. When a routinemammogram in 2004 showed a recurrence, shehad a double mastectomy only to discover alump in her right lymph node several monthslater. Even though she had already been througha round of chemo following her first diagnosis,she was feeling just as fragile as Sara was, andthey naturally gravitated toward one another. “Ican’t stress how much it helped to have some-one to go through this experience with,” Suesaid. Every other week when they came to Yalefor chemo accompanied by their husbands, theywould save seats for one another, looking for-ward to chatting, laughing, and sharing advice.“In a twisted way, we would look forward togoing,” said John Krozer, who became friendlywith both Sara and her husband, also namedJohn. Sometimes the foursome would becomeso boisterous that they feared disturbing otherpatients. “We really made the best of it,” saidSue. “We tried to sit there like we were having agood time instead of focusing on what it was allabout.”

Their friendship eventually extended beyondthe confines of the hospital; they would call oneanother in between visits to discuss side effects,how they were feeling, and to lend moral sup-port. They commiserated about losing their hairand compared notes about the sudden onset ofmenopause that chemotherapy sometimescauses. The two also underwent genetic testingat the same time, an anxiety-provoking experi-ence that they were able to share and eventual-ly rejoice about together, when they received thenews that they were both negative for theBRCA1 and BRCA2 gene. “It was like a supportgroup,” said Sue. At one point, when Sarabecame so despondent that she felt she didn’twant to continue with the treatment, thethought of seeing Sue and John spurred her on.“It was like being part of a team,” said her hus-band John. The couples have kept in touch sincecompleting chemotherapy over the summer,continuing to draw strength from one another asthey voice concerns that are difficult to sharewith family and friends.

Both women underwent radiation followingchemotherapy, and now that their treatment iscompleted, their lives have returned to normal.They are back at work and busy with their chil-dren. But something has changed in their out-look. Sue, who continued to walk five miles aday during chemotherapy and even went on acruise during the treatment, said that she andher husband try to live each day to the fullest.“It’s an ongoing axe over your head,” she admit-ted, “but you can’t let it rob you of your life.”Sara also has a positive outlook on life, eventhough her husband still sometimes struggleswith feelings of fear. “I’m back to normal andthen some,” she said. “I wouldn’t say I’m indenial, but I have moved on.”

Both women say they hope their experienceis helpful to other cancer patients. “I hope otherwomen can reach out and buddy up with some-one,” said Sue. “No one can comfort you likesomeone going through this at the same time.”

C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1 Healthline with Yale Cancer CenterA W E E K LY R A D I O P R O G R A M O N W T I C N E W S T A L K 1 0 8 0

Dr. Ed Chu and Dr. Ken Miller, co-hosts of the weekly radio program.

Dr. Kevin Kelly, a recent guest on Healthline, discusses new

treatment strategies for prostate cancer.Te

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Yale Cancer Center hasbeen selected byCoast to Coast: A Runfor Survivorship as the primary benefi-ciary for its cross country run in 2006.

“We are honored that Coast toCoast has partnered with Yale CancerCenter to increase awareness andfunding for cancer survivorship, notonly in Connecticut but nationwide.

The commitment and dedication theywill make to cancer survivors through-out the five month run is an inspira-tion,” said Richard L. Edelson, MD,Director of Yale Cancer Center.

President of the Challenge AmericaFoundation, Christian McEvoy, 23, willcomplete the 3,500 mile run from thePacific to Atlantic Oceans to raiseawareness of cancer survivorship andfunds for the Yale Cancer CenterConnecticut Challenge AdultSurvivorship Center. McEvoy joins

fewer than fifty runners who havecompleted the cross-country run. Therun will begin in San Francisco on July1, 2006 and finish in Rhode Island inlate November, 2006.

Joining McEvoy in Coast to Coast,is John Chenier, event coordinator forthe run. The team will pass through 13

states making stops tovisit cancer patientsduring their trip. Both

high school teachers, McEvoy andChenier are also challenging highschool students to join them in rais-ing both awareness of the issuesaffecting cancer survivors as well asfunds to support cancer patients andresearch. High schools along theroute will be encouraged to formrelay teams to join McEvoy for seg-ments of the run.

“The personal challenge I will facein running across the country is reallyinsignificant when compared to thechallenges cancer survivors face everyday of their lives. I am inspired by thecancer survivors I know and I am excit-ed that we found a way to help raisefunds and awareness for all survivors,”McEvoy said.

Chenier shares McEvoy’s enthusi-asm for the upcoming challenge andsaid, “I look forward to supportingChristian as he runs from the Pacific tothe Atlantic. I am also very excited bythe meaningful opportunity to involvehigh school students in this huge effort.”

In his or her lifetime, one in twomen and one in three women will

develop cancer. Over 10 million cancersurvivors live in the United Statestoday and due to the advances in can-cer treatment, the number of survivorswill continue to grow. Long term con-sequences of childhood and adultcancer treatments may include heartproblems, fertility issues, lymphede-ma, post-traumatic stress, impairedgrowth, osteoporosis, or increased riskof second cancers.

The Connecticut Challenge AdultSurvivorship Center at Yale CancerCenter, scheduled to open this fall,will provide care and consultation topeople who have been diagnosedand treated for cancer and focus onthe long-term effects of cancer, sur-gery, radiation, and chemotherapy.The multidisciplinary team will con-sist of a physician, a specializedadvanced practice nurse, socialworkers, a nutritionist, and othermedical specialists who focus onthe special problems of patients andtheir families both during and aftercancer treatment. www.coasttocoastrun.org

is only for the last two weeks of life, according toElizabeth Bradley, PhD, Associate Professor ofEpidemiology and Public Health, who has conduct-ed research on hospice care for almost a decade.However, this could not be further from the truth.Sometimes patients enter the hospice program andbenefit so much from the care they’re given, thatthey no longer need hospice care. “They may needvery intense support at home, and then improveeither as a result of their therapy or partially as aresult of supportive care at home and then be in asense discharged from the program,” said Miller.Patients can also be admitted to the hospital forshort periods of time during their treatment whenextra support is needed, a pattern that may berepeated more than once during the course of theirillness.

Even among physicians and nurses there is amisconception about what hospice is and how itcan benefit patients, according to Bradley. But thatis changing as physicians utilize the program fortheir patients more frequently and as hospice hasbeen integrated into many medical education pro-grams. Physicians completing a fellowship in med-ical oncology at Yale Cancer Center do rotationswith Connecticut Hospice to learn the benefits ofthe program and the depth of resources available totheir patients.

Perhaps the biggest barrier to patients usinghospice services are the patients and familiesthemselves, who tend to underestimate how posi-tive an impact hospice can have on quality of life.“Hospice really is the best that medicine has to offerin terms of compassionate holistic care,” said Miller.

C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 3

President of the Challenge

America Foundation, Christian

McEvoy, 23, will complete the

3,500 mile run from the Pacific to

Atlantic Oceans to raise aware-

ness of cancer survivorship and

funds for the Yale Cancer Center

Connecticut Challenge Adult

Survivorship Center.

The personal challenge I will face in

running across the country is really

insignificant when compared to the

challenges cancer survivors face

every day of their lives.

John Chenier (left) will join Christian McEvoy as he runs

across America to raise funds for cancer survivorship at

Yale Cancer Center.

Upcoming EventsApril 5, 2006 • 6:00 pmYNHH East Pavilion CafeteriaUnderstanding Cancer Lecture Series

Prostate CancerDr. John Colberg, Associate Professor, Surgery Dr. Richard Peschel, Professor, Therapeutic Radiology Dr. Wm. Kevin Kelly, Associate Professor, Medical OncologyCall 1-888-700-6543 for more information and reservations.

April 23, 2006 • 10:00 amChoate Rosemary HallSixth Annual Terry Fox Run

For more information or to register, please go tohttps://www.choate.edu/parents/terryfoxrun.asp

April 29, 2006 • 6:00 pmThe Belle Haven Club, Greenwich, CTLa Cassa Magica

Yale Cancer Center's Annual Gala

For more information, call (203) 737-2439.

May 25, 2006 • 11:00 amHope Building, Yale School of MedicineCancer Survivors Day

New Beginnings: Complementary Approaches

to Living Well Today

Call 1-888-700-6543 for more information and reservations.

Get Involved

Yale Cancer Center is looking for volunteers to help inthe Development Office with fundraising efforts andevents. Fundraising initiatives are instrumental in pro-viding support for many of the patient services weoffer. If you are interested in volunteering your time,please call Kathleen at (203) 737-2439.

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C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1

not evident in those who dyed their hair after 1980 illustrates the tentative rela-tionship between environmental chemicals and disease; it could be because hairdye formulations changed after 1980 or because not enough time had passed forthe health effects to show up.

Another factor that makes defining the link between the environment and dis-ease difficult is that the relationship between the two is often dependent on theindividual’s susceptibility. For example, why do some smokers develop lung can-cer, while others don’t? The answer may have to do with an interaction betweenthe environment and a person’s genetic makeup; epidemiologists call it gene-environment interaction.

Realizing the limitations of studying diseases from an environmental perspec-tive, Zheng has expanded his team’s research to incorporate genetic susceptibil-ity, enlisting the aid of molecular biologist Yong Zhu, PhD, Assistant Professor ofEpidemiology and Public Health. Zhu has been studying the effect of disruptionsin circadian rhythms on breast cancer. Recent studies have shown that genesresponsible for circadian rhythm also regulate many other biological pathways,including those related to cancer, and that disrupting these rhythms (for example,by working at night) may be a risk factor for breast cancer. Early last year, Zhupublished the first study supporting this hypothesis from a genetic perspective.By examining the variation in length in a circadian gene known as Period3 amongbreast cancer patients, Zhu and his colleagues found that a certain variant wasassociated with an increased breast cancer risk among premenopausal women.In theory, the implications of these findings could mean that some people, dueto their genetic makeup, should avoid night shift work. Zhu has since gatheredadditional evidence to support these findings. Based on their research on circa-dian genes and breast cancer, Drs. Zhu, Zheng and the research group haverecently originated the hypothesis that circadian rhythm disruption may increasethe risk of prostate cancer, another hormone-related cancer. “We believe that ifcircadian rhythms play a role in breast cancer by regulating or changing sex hor-mone expression, then they may do the same thing in prostate cancer,” Zhu said.

Zheng and his study group have also been conducting research on environ-mental exposures and breast cancer risk, investigating whether exposure to envi-ronmental hormone disrupters (such as polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs, andorganochlorine pesticides) affects breast cancer risk. In a study published in 2000involving nearly 1,000 Connecticut women, Zheng examined levels of PCBs andseveral pesticides in the breast tissue and blood serum of women with and with-out breast cancer, finding no significant difference in the levels of these com-pounds between the two groups. But upon further examination of the relation-ship taking into account genetic susceptibility, they found that women who havea specific genotype in a gene known as CYPIA 1 and were exposed to high lev-els of PCBs have a significantly increased risk of developing breast cancer. “Thishelps explain why some people exposed to certain things get cancer while oth-ers don’t,” said Yawei Zhang, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology andPublic Health and the first author of the published study. “People with differ-ent genetic makeups have different abilities to metabolize environmental car-cinogens, which result in different susceptibility to environmental insults.”

But it may not only be toxins that could potentially pose a threat to humanhealth. Based on evidence that sun exposure can reduce immune function andis linked to skin cancer, and the fact that those with skin cancer have a muchhigher risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Zheng hypothesized that sunexposure can increase the risk of the disease. He and his team conducted astudy to test this hypothesis and although they are only in the preliminary stagesof analyzing the data, there appears to be an association between sun exposureand increased risk of this type of cancer.

In the years ahead, Zheng and his team will continue to explore the role of theenvironment in human health. They are currently investigating the relationshipbetween circadian gene, circadian disruption and breast cancer risk. They haverecently secured the funding to study the relationship between environmentalhormone disrupters, genes and testicular cancer in Connecticut andMassachusetts. Testicular cancer incidence has been increasing amongCaucasian men, especially in the young, during the past decades with unknownreasons. They are also currently conducting an epidemiological study of envi-ronmental exposures and the age of puberty onset in the People’s Republic ofChina. Age at puberty has been steadily decreasing in girls in the United States,and earlier age at puberty has been linked to human cancer risk, such as breastcancer and testicular cancer. Examining the gene-environmental interaction willplay a large role in their research. “We try to put disease within the frameworkof genetic and environmental interaction to address our questions,” said Zhu.

This is the first part of a two-part series on the environment and cancer. The next issue of thenewsletter will feature an article about the influence of nutrition and physical activity on cancer.

Staff Briefs

JoAnn Bilyard has joined the Office of

Development as a Development Associate work-

ing on special events and fundraising for Yale

Cancer Center.

Dr. James Brink has been appointed to Chair

of Diagnostic Radiology at Yale School of

Medicine and Chief of Radiology at Yale-New

Haven Hospital.

The American Cancer Society has re-elected

Dr. Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., the Amy and

Joseph Perella Professor of Medicine and

Chairman of the YCC Advisory Board, to the

National Board of Directors.

Dr. Alan Garen has been awarded a 2006

Breast Cancer Alliance Exceptional Project

Grant to support his research project, Breast

Cancer Immunotherapy using Targeted

Nanoparticles Encoding an Icon.

Ira Mellman, PhD, Scientific Director of YCC,

was one of three Americans elected to the

European Molecular Biology Organization as one

of 40 leading life scientists.

Diane Miranda has joined the staff at Yale

Cancer Center as the Protocol Review

Committee Coordinator. She is working to

improve the process of protocol initiation and

implementation for the Center.

Dr. Jill Reiter was awarded the 2006 Breast

Cancer Alliance Masin Young Investigator

Grant for her project looking into the Quanitative

Analysis of EGFR Variants in Breast Cancer.

Dr. Joseph Schlessinger, Professor and Chair

of the Department of Pharmacology, will share

the $1 million Dan David Prize for his research on

innovative ways of treating cancer. The Dan David

Prize is a joint international enterprise endowed

by the Dan David Foundation and headquartered

at Tel Aviv University.

Dr. Warren Shlomchik was selected as the

recipient of a five-year Leukemia & Lymphoma

Society Scholar in Clinical Research Award.

The Breast Cancer Alliance has awarded

Dr. Joanne Weidhaas a Young Investigator

Grant in support of her research project, Defining

the Best Treatment Options in BRCA1-mediated

Breast Cancer Using a C. Elegans Model of

Radiosensitivity.