Dr. Cruz-Correa is currently completing the requirements of both a gastroenterology fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a Ph.D. in Clinical Investigation through the Graduate Training Program in Clinical Investigation, a joint initiative of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the School of Hygiene and Public Health. She has successfttlly completed the preliminary Ph.D. oral exam, which covered fundamental concepts given during the first year of formal didactic training at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene. Her immediate career goals are the completion of her doctorate in Clinical Investigation, the publication of its results, and an appointment to the faculty of Johns Hopkins. Her long-term objectives are to become a leader in the field of gastrointestinal oncology with emphasis in genetics, outcomes and prevention. The Departments of Medicine and the Graduate Training Program are fully committed to the development of Dr. Cruz-Correa's career. This award will enable her to acquire the necessary skills to develop a successful career in clinical research under the guidance of her mentor, Dr. Francis Giardiello, her thesis advisor, Dr. Neil Powe and the additional mentorship of Dr. Andrew Feinberg, Dr. Gloria Petersen and Dr. Scott Zeger. The overall goal of this project is to characterize the role of loss of imprinting of the IGF-2 gene in colorectal cancer. LOI in colon cancer was found both in the tumor as well as in the normal mucosa of over 40 percent of the cases. This is the first time that a gene alteration has been described in such a high frequency in the norrnal tissue of cancer patients in the general population. This finding suggests that LOI in normal tissue could identify a subgroup of patients at risk of colon or other cancers. LOI has potential as a new biomarker for cancer predisposition in the colon and in extracolonic sites. An explorative study to evaluate the prevalence of LOI in people with normal colons, and those with colonic polyps and cancer is proposed using a cross-sectional study design, followed by a prospective cohort of patients with and without LOI of the IGF-2. Analysis of the fundamental characteristics of LOI in the IGF-2 gene will enable the determination of whether LOI at this locus is a risk factor for the development of colorectal cancer.
| De Jesus-Monge, Wilfredo E; Gonzalez-Keelan, Carmen; Zhao, Ronghua et al. (2010) Mismatch repair protein expression and colorectal cancer in Hispanics from Puerto Rico. Fam Cancer 9:155-66 |
| Cruz-Correa, Marcia; Zhao, Ronghua; Oviedo, Myriam et al. (2009) Temporal stability and age-related prevalence of loss of imprinting of the insulin-like growth factor-2 gene. Epigenetics 4:114-8 |
| Pendergrass, Cheryl J; Edelstein, Daniel L; Hylind, Linda M et al. (2008) Occurrence of colorectal adenomas in younger adults: an epidemiologic necropsy study. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 6:1011-5 |
| Cruz-Correa, Marcia; Schultz, Kathleen; Jagannath, Sanjay et al. (2007) Performance characteristics and comparison of two fecal occult blood tests in patients undergoing colonoscopy. Dig Dis Sci 52:1009-13 |
| Sanchez-Fermin, Patricia; Ukleja, Andrew; Cruz-Correa, Marcia (2006) Successful long-term jejunostomy feedings in relapsing pancreatitis: a case report. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr 30:251-3 |
| Raju, Ramu; Cruz-Correa, Marcia (2006) Chemoprevention of colorectal cancer. Dis Colon Rectum 49:113-24; discussion 124-5 |
| Cruz-Correa, Marcia; Shoskes, Daniel A; Sanchez, Patricia et al. (2006) Combination treatment with curcumin and quercetin of adenomas in familial adenomatous polyposis. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 4:1035-8 |
| Zhao, Ronghua; Berho, Mariana; Nogueras, Juan et al. (2005) Positive correlation of insulin-like growth factor-II with proliferating cell index in patients with colorectal neoplasia. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 14:1819-22 |
| Cruz-Correa, Marcia; Giardiello, Francis M (2003) Familial adenomatous polyposis. Gastrointest Endosc 58:885-94 |
| Cui, Hengmi; Cruz-Correa, Marcia; Giardiello, Francis M et al. (2003) Loss of IGF2 imprinting: a potential marker of colorectal cancer risk. Science 299:1753-5 |
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