Starting date: January 2021
Work Programme
The overarching aim of the Hormones Team (HorM) is to advance research on the role of hormones and metabolism in cancer etiology, building on established molecular epidemiology research on hormone-dependent cancers.
Within this context, HorM will:
- study the association between hormones, inflammation, metabolic imbalance, and cancer, with a particular focus on cancers of the breast, endometrium, ovary, and thyroid;
- identify possible mechanisms of cancer development, or the role of biomarkers in mediating lifestyle–cancer associations; and
- identify modifiable risk factors (with a particular emphasis on body fatness, obesity, and metabolic health) associated with circulating concentrations of cancer-associated biomarkers, specific to different populations, which can be used to support local, targeted preventive actions.
This research programme is based on the application of cutting-edge laboratory-based technologies to large-scale epidemiological studies. Crucial support for the activities of HorM is provided by the laboratory facilities that have been specifically tailored to the application of novel molecular technologies to epidemiological studies.
Currently, major activities include measurements of hormones, inflammatory factors, fatty acids, and endogenous metabolites, analysed by a variety of assays, such as immunoassays, gas chromatograms (GC), and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS), in samples from large-scale epidemiological studies.
Technological development is also a major focus of HorM and is crucial to support evolving research.
Team Composition
Team Leaders: Dr Sabina Rinaldi (Deputy Branch Head) and Dr Laure Dossus, Nutrition and Metabolism Branch (NME), IARC
Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]
Team members:
Dr Agnès Fournier (Visiting Scientist, NME; INSERM CESP)
Dr Yahya Mahamat-Saleh (Postdoctoral Scientist, NME)
Dr Esther Gonzales Gil (Postdoctoral Scientist, NME)
Dr Rola Jaafar (IARC Postdoctoral Fellow, NME)
Dr Sabrina Wang (Postdoctoral Scientist, NME)
Dr Azam Majidi (Postdoctoral Scientist, NME)
Dr Sanam Shah (IARC Postdoctoral Fellow, NME)
Ms Fanélie Vasson (Doctoral Student, NME)
Ms Yadi Zheng (Doctoral Student, NME)
Ms Carine Biessy (Senior Research Assistant, Data Management/Analysis, NME)
Ms Anne-Sophie Navionis (Laboratory Technician, NME)
Ms Béatrice Vozar (Senior Research Assistant, Lab Services, NME)
Ms Karine Racinoux (Secretary, NME)
Key networks: European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) (https://epic.iarc.who.int), Molecular Subtypes of Premenopausal Breast Cancer in Latin American Women (PRECAMA) (https://precama.iarc.who.int), South Africa Breast Cancer (SABC) study (https://sabc.iarc.who.int), Kandahar Obesity Research (KOR)
Key funding: World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), Institut national du Cancer (INCa), Ligue nationale contre le Cancer (LNCC), Fondation pour la Recherche sur le Cancer (ARC), Cancer Research UK (CRUK)
Key publications
- Sanikini H, Biessy C, Rinaldi S, Navionis AS, Gicquiau A, Keski-Rahkonen P, et al. (2023). Circulating hormones and risk of gastric cancer by subsite in three cohort studies. Gastric Cancer. 26(6):969–87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10120-023-01414-0 PMID:37455285
- Mahamat-Saleh Y, Rinaldi S, Kaaks R, Biessy C, Gonzalez-Gil EM, Murphy N, et al. (2023). Metabolically defined body size and body shape phenotypes and risk of postmenopausal breast cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Cancer Med. 12(11):12668–82. https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.5896 PMID:37096432
- Fournier A, Cairat M, Severi G, Gunter MJ, Rinaldi S, Dossus L (2023). Use of menopausal hormone therapy and ovarian cancer risk in a French cohort study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 115(6):671–9. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djad035 PMID:36809347
- Dimou N, Omiyale W, Biessy C, Viallon V, Kaaks R, O’Mara TA, et al. (2022). Cigarette smoking and endometrial cancer risk: observational and Mendelian randomization analyses. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 31(9):1839–48. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-21-1176 PMID:35900194
- Fontvieille E, His M, Biessy C, Navionis AS, Torres-Mejía G, Ángeles-Llerenas A, et al.; PRECAMA team (2022). Inflammatory biomarkers and risk of breast cancer among young women in Latin America: a case-control study. BMC Cancer. 22(1):877. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-022-09975-6 PMID:35948877
- Cairat M, Rinaldi S, Navionis AS, Romieu I, Biessy C, Viallon V, et al. (2022). Circulating inflammatory biomarkers, adipokines and breast cancer risk – a case-control study nested within the EPIC cohort. BMC Med. 20(1):118. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-022-02319-y PMID:35430795
- Sahrai MS, Huybrechts I, Biessy C, Rinaldi S, Ferrari P, Wasiq AW, et al. (2022). Determinants of obesity and metabolic health in the Afghan population: protocol, methodology, and preliminary results. J Epidemiol Glob Health. 12(1):113–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44197-021-00026-0 PMID:34994966
- Romieu I, Khandpur N, Katsikari A, Biessy C, Torres-Mejía G, Ángeles-Llerenas A, et al.; PRECAMA team. Consumption of industrial processed foods and risk of premenopausal breast cancer among Latin American women: the PRECAMA study (2022). BMJ Nutr Prev Health. 5(1):1–9. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjnph-2021-000335 PMID:35814719
- His M, Viallon V, Dossus L, Schmidt JA, Travis RC, Gunter MJ, et al. (2021). Lifestyle correlates of eight breast cancer-related metabolites: a cross-sectional study within the EPIC cohort. BMC Med. 19(1):312. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-021-02183-2 PMID:34886862
- Dossus L, Kouloura E, Biessy C, Viallon V, Siskos AP, Dimou N, et al. (2021). Prospective analysis of circulating metabolites and endometrial cancer risk. Gynecol Oncol. 162(2):475–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygyno.2021.06.001 PMID:34099314