The metropolitan Detroit area is home to a population that is ethnically and culturally diverse, and the Population Studies and Prevention program brings together faculty with a variety of scholarly interests whose research is based on this diversity. The Program has developed three major themes: 1) Cancer Etiology and Prognosis, with a research emphasis on population-based studies of cancer etiology and race/ethnicity related health disparities; 2) Prevention, with a research emphasis on studies designed to prevent and/or control the development of cancer within this population; and 3) Communication and Behavioral Oncology, with a research emphasis on understanding the role of communication in determining how best to change and improve health behavior. Our population-based studies focus on the interface between genetic and environmental exposures and their roles in the subsequent development of cancer and survival from this disease. These studies aim to define the contribution of familial risk, describe patterns of inheritance and discover susceptibility genes for cancer. Modification of risk by diet, smoking and other environmental factors is also explored. Our major research emphasis in prevention is on understanding the role, at a molecular level, that nutrition plays in the prevention of cancer. Research focuses on the preventive effects of soy isoflavones, lycopene, folic acid, tea polyphenols, zinc, increased fruits and vegetables, and a low fat diet in a variety of cancers. The effects of these interventions on molecular targets such as NF-kB, AKT, EGFR and IL-2 are currently under investigation, with basic science work translated into chemoprevention trials when appropriate. As we identify risk factors for disease, behavioral intervention strategies and new chemopreventive agents, work in the Communication and Behavioral Oncology area emphasizes how to most effectively communicate these findings to protect the health of our diverse population.
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