Li, Dan
Research interests include screening and prevention of gastrointestinal cancers, with a special emphasis on colorectal and gastric cancer.
Research interests include screening and prevention of gastrointestinal cancers, with a special emphasis on colorectal and gastric cancer.
Research interests include cancer epidemiology and prevention
Research interests include etiologic and outcomes studies in cancer.
This study will combine functional data from gene expression and co-expression networks with GWAS data to elucidate the genetic determinants…
Improving breast cancer risk prediction models could enable more personalized screening. This would enhance the benefits of screening while limiting…
Inadequate representation of diverse racial/ethnic populations in genetic studies is hindering the translational potential of polygenic risk scores (PRS) in…
An understanding of the etiologic heterogeneity of colorectal cancer (CRC) is critical for improving precision prevention, including individualized screening recommendations…
Germline variation and smoking are independently associated with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). We conducted genome-wide smoking interaction analysis of PDAC…
An effort to more comprehensively determine the genetic factors associated with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, and to develop and apply…
This multiple institution effort will assemble the largest set of pancreatic cases and controls to examine in detail the genetic…
This application will use the Pathways Study resource to investigate genetic and non-genetic factors in the interplay of energy balance,…
Susceptibility genes and the underlying mechanisms for the majority of risk loci identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for colorectal…
Even distinct cancer types share biological hallmarks. Here, we investigate polygenic risk score (PRS)-specific pleiotropy across 16 cancers in European…
Body mass index (BMI) is a complex phenotype that may interact with genetic variants to influence colorectal cancer risk. We…
Prostate cancer is a highly heritable disease with large disparities in incidence rates across ancestry populations. We conducted a multiancestry…
To develop a longitudinal algorithm combining two biomarkers, CA125 and HE4, for early detection of ovarian cancer in women with…
Mammographic density (MD) phenotypes are strongly associated with breast cancer risk and highly heritable. In this GWAS meta-analysis of 24,192…
Referral to Genetics for pre-testing counseling may be inefficient for women with ovarian cancer. This study assesses feasibility of gynecologic…
Much of the heritable risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) associated with common genetic variation is unexplained. New analytic approaches…
Although 20 pancreatic cancer susceptibility loci have been identified through genome-wide association studies in individuals of European ancestry, much of…
Deciphering the shared genetic basis of distinct cancers has the potential to elucidate carcinogenic mechanisms and inform broadly applicable risk…
More than 180 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with breast cancer susceptibility have been identified; these SNPs can be combined…
Early-onset colorectal cancer (CRC, in persons younger than 50 years old) is increasing in incidence; yet, in the absence of…
Human studies examining associations between circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3…
Latinos represent
The goal of this proposal is to identify genetic loci that affect the risk of keratinocyte carcinoma, examine how environmental…
Interindividual differences in DNA repair systems may play a role in modulating the individual risk of developing colorectal cancer. To…
To evaluate health care systems for the availability of population-level data on the frequency of use and results of clinical…
Here we train cis-regulatory models of prostate tissue gene expression and impute expression transcriptome-wide for 233,955 European ancestry men (14,616…
Despite adoption of molecular biomarkers in the management of NSCLC, the recently adopted eighth edition of the TNM staging system…
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identify associations of individual single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with cancer risk but usually only explain a fraction…
Young black women are at higher risk of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC); however, a majority of the genetic studies on…
Genome-wide association studies have reported 56 independently associated colorectal cancer (CRC) risk variants, most of which are non-coding and believed…
As part of a K training award, and within our overall colorectal cancer research program, this award will support additional…
Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 42 loci (P < 5 × 10-8) associated with risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Expanded…
Genetic risk and family history, which includes personal medical history, increasingly influence medical care, but optimal methods for capturing the…
Breast cancer is a partially heritable trait and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified over 180 common genetic variants associated…
To further dissect the genetic architecture of colorectal cancer (CRC), we performed whole-genome sequencing of 1,439 cases and 720 controls,…
Little is known about whether gene expression profile (GEP) testing and specific recurrence scores (e.g., medium risk) improve women's confidence…
MUTYH-associated polyposis (MAP) is a hereditary cancer syndrome that is caused by biallelic pathogenic variants in the MUTYH gene and…
This project expands a consortium of studies examining germline genetic mutations in breast cancer risk in Latinas. It builds on…
As part of a “K” training award from the National Institutes of Health, and within the overall colorectal cancer research…
Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is a common skin cancer with genetic susceptibility loci identified in recent genome-wide association studies…
Although the proportion of triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) diagnosed among older women is low, the number of TNBC cases is…
The TGFβ-signaling pathway plays an important role in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Loss of function of several genes…
Background: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most common cancer in United States, and its incidence is substantially…
Colorectal cancer (CRC) accounts for about 8% of all new cancer cases diagnosed in the US. We used whole exome…
We examined expression of genes in the p53-signaling pathway. We determine if genes that have significantly different expression in carcinoma…
Substantial evidence supports an association between use of menopausal hormone therapy and decreased colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, indicating a role of…
Background: Breast tumor subtyping has failed to provide impact in susceptibility genetics. The PAM50 assay categorizes breast tumors into: Luminal…
Guidelines for initiating colorectal cancer (CRC) screening are based on family history but do not consider lifestyle, environmental, or genetic…
The immune system has been implicated in the pathophysiology of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) as evidenced by the substantially…
JAK-STAT signaling influences many downstream processes that, unchecked, contribute to carcinogenesis and metastasis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are hypothesized as a mechanism…
Medical castration that interferes with androgen receptor (AR) function is the principal treatment for advanced prostate cancer. However, clinical progression…
Apoptosis is genetically regulated and involves intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. We examined 133 genes within these pathways to identify whether…
The purpose of the study was to assess the feasibility of quantifying long-term trends in breast tumor DNA copy number…
Background/Purpose As cervical cancer screening shifts from cytology to human papillomavirus (HPV) testing, a major question is the clinical value…
Purpose Gene expression profile (GEP) testing can support chemotherapy decision making for patients with early-stage, estrogen receptor-positive, human epidermal growth…
In 2020, 146,063 deaths due to pancreatic cancer are estimated to occur in Europe and the United States combined. To…
Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA methylation testing is a promising triage option for women testing HPV-positive during cervical cancer screening. However,…
The nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signalling pathway is a regulator of immune response and inflammation that has been implicated in…
The Wnt-signaling pathway functions in regulating cell growth and thus is involved in the carcinogenic process of several cancers, including…
Prostate Cancer (PCa) is the second most prevalent cancer among U.S. males. In recent decades many men with low risk…
Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways regulate many cellular functions including cell proliferation and apoptosis. We examined associations of differential gene…
A 17-gene biopsy-based reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay, which provides a Genomic Prostate Score (GPS-scale 0-100), has been validated…
Purpose: DNA topoisomerase inhibitors are commonly used for treating small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase (TDP1) repairs DNA damage caused…
We developed comprehensive models to determine risk of Barrett's esophagus (BE) or esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) based on genetic and non-genetic…
Tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) and oncogenes (OG) are involved in carcinogenesis. MiRNAs also contribute to cellular pathways leading to cancer…
The PI3K/AKT-signaling pathway is one of the most frequently activated signal-transduction pathways in cancer. We examined how dysregulated gene expression…
Characterization of gene-environment interactions (GEIs) in cancer is limited. We aimed at identifying GEIs in rectal cancer focusing on a…
Although most cervical human papillomavirus type�16 (HPV16) infections become undetectable within 1-2 years, persistent HPV16 causes half of all cervical…
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels have been used for detection and surveillance of prostate cancer (PCa). However, factors other than PCa-such…
For unknown reasons, there is huge variability in risk conferred by different HPV types and, remarkably, strong differences even between…
Chronic inflammation and oxidative damage caused by obesity, cigarette smoking, and chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are major risk factors…
HPV16 is a common sexually transmitted infection although few infections lead to cervical precancer/cancer; we cannot distinguish nor mechanistically explain…
A 21-gene test that predicts recurrence risk among women with hormone receptor positive (HR+), localized breast cancer was nationally recommended…
The role of insulin-like growth factors (IGF) in prostate cancer development is not fully understood. To investigate the association between…
The strong male predominance in Barrett's esophagus (BE) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) remains inadequately explained, but sex hormones might be…
Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) use has been consistently associated with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) in women. Our…
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified many common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with colorectal cancer risk. These SNPs may…
Genome-wide association studies have identified several germline single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence. Common germline…
Important risk factors for esophageal adenocarcinoma and its precursor, Barrett's esophagus, include gastroesophageal reflux disease, obesity, and cigarette smoking. Recently,…
Evidence of the association between chronic inflammation and the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) and other obesity-related cancers (OBRC) remains…
Genetic association studies have traditionally focused on associations between individual single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and disease. Standard analysis ignores interactions…
A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of prostate cancer in Kaiser Permanente health plan members (7,783 cases, 38,595 controls; 80.3% non-Hispanic…
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in colorectal cancer (CRC) development and associated with prognostic indicators such as disease stage and…
Use of aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer. To identify common…
High mammographic density (MD) is a strong risk factor for breast cancer. Chronic inflammation may be related to breast cancer…
An efficient approach to characterizing the disease burden of rare genetic variants is to impute them into large well-phenotyped cohorts…
Determining long-term trends in tumor biomarker expression is essential for understanding aspects of tumor biology amenable to change. Limiting the…
Invasive breast cancers are now commonly classified using gene expression into biologically and clinically distinct tumor subtypes. However, the role…
Red meat intake has been associated with risk of colorectal cancer, potentially mediated through heterocyclic amines. The metabolic efficiency of…
Incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA) has increased substantially in recent decades. Multiple risk factors have been identified for EA and…
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have mapped risk alleles for at least 10 distinct cancers to a small region of 63…
Incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA) in Western countries has increased markedly in recent decades. Although several risk factors have been…
Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer than the general population. Genome-wide association…
Genome-wide association studies have identified several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are associated with risk of colorectal cancer. Prior research…
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified a large number of cancer-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), several of which have been…
The Multi-Society Task Force, in collaboration with invited experts, developed guidelines to assist health care providers with the appropriate provision…
The Multi-Society Task Force, in collaboration with invited experts, developed guidelines to assist health care providers with the appropriate provision…
A sizable fraction of colorectal cancer (CRC) is expected to be explained by heritable factors, with heritability estimates ranging from…
To the Editor: Imperiale and colleagues evaluate the use of a single-application multitarget stool DNA test for colorectal-cancer screening and…
Data are lacking to describe gene expression-based breast cancer intrinsic subtype patterns for population-based patient groups. We studied a diverse…
The PAM50, a gene expression assay to categorize breast tumors into intrinsic subtypes, has not been previously used to examine…
Genome-wide association studies have identified a large number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with a wide array of cancer…
Dietary factors, including meat, fruits, vegetables and fiber, are associated with colorectal cancer; however, there is limited information as to…
To evaluate whether differences in PAM50 breast cancer (BC) intrinsic (Luminal A, Luminal B, Basal-like, and HER2-enriched) subtypes help explain…
Introduction: Bevacizumab was approved for treatment of advanced non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the US in late 2006…
Experimental evidence has demonstrated an antineoplastic role for vitamin D in the colon, and higher circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels…
Genetic association studies have identified more than a dozen genes associated with risk of pancreatic cancer. Given this genetic heterogeneity,…
BACKGROUND: Gene fusions between the ERG transcription factor and the androgen-regulated gene TMPRSS2 occur in a subset of prostate cancers…
Pancreatic phospholipase A2, product of PLA2G1B, catalyzes the release of fatty acids from dietary phospholipids.Diet is the ultimate source of…
Arachidonate lipoxygenase (ALOX) enzymes metabolize arachidonic acid to generate potent inflammatory mediators and play an important role in inflammation-associated diseases…
SCOPE: The importance of folate-mediated one-carbon metabolism (FOCM) in colorectal carcinogenesis is emphasized by observations that high dietary folate intake…
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Heritable factors contribute to the development of colorectal cancer. Identifying the genetic loci associated with colorectal tumor…
The large-scale Collaborative Oncological Gene-environment Study (COGS) presents new findings that further characterize the genetic bases of breast, ovarian and…
Many carcinogens in tobacco smoke cause DNA damage, and some of that damage can be mitigated by the actions of…
Studies have shown that a two-gene ratio (HOXB13:IL17BR) and a five-gene (BUB1B, CENPA, NEK2, RACGAP1, RRM2) molecular grade index (MGI)…
Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) can be converted to prostaglandins and leukotrienes. Oxygenation of omega-6 PUFAs generally results in the…
Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression is amplified in about 20% of breast cancer tumors, and evaluation of…
Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) are commonly used for the mapping of genetic loci that influence complex traits. A problem that…
Glutathione peroxidases (GPXs) are selenium-dependent enzymes that reduce and, thus, detoxify hydrogen peroxide and a wide variety of lipid hydroperoxides…
BACKGROUND: The transforming growth factor-beta-signaling pathway has been identified as being involved in colorectal cancer. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this…
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than a dozen loci associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. Here, we examined…
BACKGROUND: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) may have a protective role in acute liver disease but a detrimental effect in chronic liver disease…
Inflammatory processes, including, specifically, the inflammatory conditions Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) predispose to colorectal cancer. Interleukin-23 is…
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in developed countries. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified…
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified a number of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. However,…
The EGFR signaling pathway is involved in carcinogenesis at multiple sites, particularly colorectal cancer, and is a target of colorectal…
BACKGROUND: The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) signaling pathway is involved in many aspects of tumorigenesis, including angiogenesis and metastasis. The…
CYP19A1, or aromatase, influences estrogen-metabolizing enzymes and may influence cancer risk. We examine variation in the CYP19A1 gene and risk…
C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker of inflammation, has been shown to be influenced by genetic variation in the CRP gene…
The Runt-related transcription factors (RUNX), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) 1 and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) are potentially involved…
Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) are part of the TGF-beta-signaling pathway; genetic variation in these genes may be involved in colorectal…
We examined candidate polymorphisms in genes involved in the folate-mediated, one-carbon metabolism pathway, DNMT1 1311V, MTHFD1 R134K and R653Q, MTHFR…
BACKGROUND: A potential susceptibility locus for colorectal cancer on chromosome 9p24 (rs719725) was initially identified through a genome-wide association study,…
OBJECTIVE: The family provides an important communication nexus for information and support exchange about family cancer history, and adoption of…
BACKGROUND: Patients with hamartomatous polyposis syndromes have increased risk for colorectal cancer (CRC). Although progression of polyps to carcinoma is…
Diet and lifestyle factors have been inconsistently associated with rectal tumors. It is possible that evaluation of specific tumor markers…
PURPOSE: An association between alcohol and rectal cancer has been reported in the epidemiological literature. In this study we further…
Although tumor size and lymph node involvement are the current cornerstones of breast cancer prognosis, they have not been extensively…
We conducted a genome-wide association study of pancreatic cancer in 3,851 affected individuals (cases) and 3,934 unaffected controls drawn from…
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified SMAD7 on 8q21 as being associated with colorectal cancer. We evaluated single nucleotide polymorphisms…
BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies and subsequent replication studies have shown that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the chromosomal region 8q24…
Calcium, vitamin D, exposure to sunshine, and vitamin D receptor (VDR) genotypes have been associated rectal cancer. We used data…
BACKGROUND: The Women's Health Initiative dietary modification (DM) trial provided suggestive evidence of a benefit of a low-fat dietary pattern…
BACKGROUND: Activin receptor 2 (ACVR2) is commonly mutated in microsatellite unstable (MSI) colon cancers, leading to protein loss, signaling disruption,…
We conducted a two-stage genome-wide association study of pancreatic cancer, a cancer with one of the lowest survival rates worldwide…
Variation in genes associated with serum levels of proteins may be useful for examining specific disease pathways. Using data from…
Our understanding of somatic alterations in colon cancer has evolved from a concept of a series of events taking place…
BACKGROUND: Experimental and epidemiologic studies have suggested that high calcium intake is associated with decreased colon cancer risk, yet very…
Polymorphisms of the transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene have been associated with insulin sensitivity and diabetes, and the TCF7L2…
This study investigated associations between CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) colon cancer and genetic polymorphisms relevant to one-carbon metabolism and…
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Variant genotypes of uridine diphosphate glucuronsyltransferase isoenzyme 1A6 (UGT1A6) associated with decreased metabolic activity have been associated…
The transcriptional activity of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene is regulated, at least in part, by the androgen receptor…
We hypothesize that the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma) is associated with colorectal cancer given its association with insulin, diabetes, obesity,…
Inherited variants of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene may influence cancer risk by altering the effect of vitamin D…
Modifiable risk factors in colorectal cancer etiology and their interactions with genetic susceptibility are of particular interest. Functional vitamin D…
INTRODUCTION: The Oncotype DX assay was recently reported to predict risk for distant recurrence among a clinical trial population of…
Estrogen and androgens are thought to be involved in the etiology of colorectal cancer. We evaluate genetic variants of the…
5,10-Methylene-tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is a key enzyme in folate-mediated 1-carbon metabolism. Reduced MTHFR activity has been associated with genomic DNA…
BACKGROUND & AIMS: The concept of a CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP), especially in microsatellite stable colon cancer, is not…
Apolipoprotein E (apoE) plays a major role in the metabolism of bile acids, cholesterol and triglycerides, and has recently been…
Polymorphisms affecting insulin-like growth factors (IGF), their binding proteins (IGFBP), insulin receptor substrates (IRS), and other IGF regulatory molecules may…
Energy balance, or the ability to maintain body weight by balancing energy intake with energy expenditure, appears to be important…
The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) is one of a group of ligand-activated nuclear receptors responsible for regulation of glucose,…
We hypothesized that the risk of colorectal cancer associated with meat preparation methods producing heterocyclic amines or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons…
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma) has been hypothesized as being involved in colorectal cancer given its role in adipocyte development and…
Components of energy balance are important elements associated with colorectal cancer risk. In this study we examine the association between…
Despite a variety of screening strategies and recent trends showing death rate stabilization, colorectal cancer still remains the second leading…
Meat consumption, particularly of red and processed meat, is one of the most thoroughly studied dietary factors in relation to…
5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is a key enzyme in folate metabolism, diverting metabolites toward methylation reactions or nucleotide synthesis. Using data…
BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests the type of treatment received for prostate carcinoma is associated with comorbidity, but little information is available…
Infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) increases stomach cancer risk. Helicobacter pylori strains with the cag pathogenicity island (PAI) induce…
The purpose of this study is to determine if cruciferous vegetables and coffee, two dietary inducers of glutatione-S-transferases, interact with…
OBJECTIVE: In this study we examine the combined effects of Western diet, age at diagnosis, and genetic susceptibility. METHODS: We…