En Cheng, MD, PhD

People

Kaiser Permanente Division of Research
2000 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94612

En Cheng, MD, PhD, is a Research Fellow at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research. He is dedicated to promoting the adoption and integration of cancer research findings into everyday practice and public health settings to improve the health and healthcare of the population. His research focuses on long-term survival and causes of death after cancer diagnosis; health outcomes among young cancer populations; the development of novel prediction models for individualized survival after cancer diagnosis; the effects of diet, lifestyle, energy balance, and body composition on cancer risk, survival, and treatment-related complications; and disparities in healthcare and health outcomes among cancer survivors.

Dr. Cheng received his MD from Peking University and earned his PhD in epidemiology at Yale University. He also holds an MSPH in epidemiology from Emory University.

Current Position(s):

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Section Affiliations:

Cancer

Primary Research Interests:

Cancer
Early-onset cancer
Survival
Obesity
Diet and lifestyle
Health disparities

Studies

Develop and Validate Novel Body Composition Scores to Predict Survival in Breast Cancer Patients

Researchers have typically investigated how each body compartment may be individually associated with poor survival and other cancer outcomes. This ignores synergistic effects of adipose tissue and muscle on inflammation, oxidative stress, insulin resistance, and chemotherapy dosing, which collectively influence cancer prognosis. We aim to develop and validate novel composite scores of body compositions to predict breast cancer survival.
Investigator: Cheng, En
Funder: Section Pilot Grants

Assess Inflammatory Potential of Diet Among Breast Cancer Patients: Novel Index and Short-Form Questionnaire

Inflammation impacts cancer progression via stimulating tumor proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis. As a key regulator of inflammation, post-diagnosis diet strongly influences risk of breast cancer recurrence and mortality. We propose to develop an inflammatory dietary index for breast cancer patients that predicts canonical plasma inflammatory biomarkers. We will also design a brief inflammatory dietary questionnaire as a feasible dietary screener for clinical use.
Investigator: Cheng, En
Funder: The Permanente Medical Group

Highlighted Publications

Adipose tissue radiodensity and mortality among patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer.

Author(s): Cheng, En; Caan, Bette J; Chen, Wendy Y; Irwin, Melinda L; Prado, Carla M; Cespedes Feliciano, Elizabeth M

Clin Nutr. 2022 Oct 4;41(12):2607-2613. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2022.09.016.

Current Position(s):

Section Affiliations:

Primary Research Interests:

Studies

Develop and Validate Novel Body Composition Scores to Predict Survival in Breast Cancer Patients

Assess Inflammatory Potential of Diet Among Breast Cancer Patients: Novel Index and Short-Form Questionnaire

Highlighted Publications

Adipose tissue radiodensity and mortality among patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer.

Diet- and Lifestyle-Based Prediction Models to Estimate Cancer Recurrence and Death in Patients With Stage III Colon Cancer (CALGB 89803/Alliance)

Neighborhood and Individual Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Survival Among Patients With Nonmetastatic Common Cancers

Analysis of Survival Among Adults With Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer in the National Cancer Database.

Publications

Adipose tissue radiodensity and mortality among patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer.

Adiposity and cancer survival: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The association of abdominal adiposity with premature discontinuation of postoperative chemotherapy in colon cancer.

Long-Term Survival and Causes of Death After Diagnoses of Common Cancers in 3 Cohorts of US Health Professionals.

Diet- and Lifestyle-Based Prediction Models to Estimate Cancer Recurrence and Death in Patients With Stage III Colon Cancer (CALGB 89803/Alliance)

Neighborhood and Individual Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Survival Among Patients With Nonmetastatic Common Cancers

Analysis of Survival Among Adults With Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer in the National Cancer Database.

Post-diagnosis dietary insulinemic potential and survival outcomes among colorectal cancer patients.

Geographic Variations of Potentially Curative Treatments for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the United States: A SEER-Medicare Study.

Clinical Utilization and Cost of Thrombophilia Testing in Patients with Venous Thromboembolism.

The Diet of Higher Insulinemic Potential Is Not Associated with Worse Survival in Patients with Stage III Colon Cancer (Alliance).

Outcomes of direct oral anticoagulant- and warfarin-associated hemorrhage: A single center retrospective cohort study.

Associations of evolutionary-concordance diet, Mediterranean diet and evolutionary-concordance lifestyle pattern scores with all-cause and cause-specific mortality.

Evolutionary-Concordance Lifestyle and Diet and Mediterranean Diet Pattern Scores and Risk of Incident Colorectal Cancer in Iowa Women.

Health care disparities among octogenarians and nonagenarians with stage II and III rectal cancer.

Proton vs. Photon Radiation Therapy for Primary Gliomas: An Analysis of the National Cancer Data Base.