Journal Club:
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention with Dr. Chun Rebecca Chao, Arif A. Arif, and Dr. Jonathan Loree

Moderated by: Jing Peng, PhD
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention Associate Editor
Recorded: 8/16/2021

Watch the recording of the AACR Journal Club session featuring Dr. Chun Rebecca Chao, Arif A. Arif, and Dr. Jonathan Loree discussing their articles published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Dr. Chao discusses her article, "Metabolic Risk Factors Associated with Early Onset Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: A Case-Control Study at Kaiser Permanente Southern California." In this paper, Dr. Chao and colleagues presented the findings from a population-based nested case-control study evaluating the associations between metabolic risk factors, namely obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia and risk of early onset colorectal adenocarcinoma. The study was conducted in a large racially/ethnically diverse population of members of Kaiser Permanente Southern California and included more than 1,000 cases of early onset colorectal adenocarcinoma, leveraging prospectively collected data in the electronic health records.

Mr. Arif discusses his article, "Hereditary and inflammatory bowel disease related early onset colorectal cancer have unique characteristics and clinical course compared to sporadic disease." In this paper, Mr. Arif and colleagues characterize a cohort of 2135 patients <50 years of age with early onset colorectal cancer (EoCRC) to identify differences between those with sporadic disease or pre-existing conditions. Most patients had sporadic cancers (89.1%), while 6.8% had a hereditary condition and 4.1% had inflammatory bowel disease. Rates of predisposing conditions were the highest among the youngest decile and inflammatory bowel disease related EoCRC was associated with later stage at diagnosis and worse outcomes. These findings help shed light on the epidemiology and biology of EoCRC which is increasing in incidence.

Stay tuned for the Q&A session at the end of the recording.

About the Featured Speaker:

Chun Rebecca Chao, Ph.D. is a senior Research Scientist at the Department of Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California. She is also an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Health Systems Science at the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J Tyson School of Medicine. Dr. Chao’s epidemiologic research aims to inform strategies for cancer prevention and for improving outcomes among persons diagnosed with cancer.

Arif Arif, MSc, MD Candidate is a medical student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He completed a Master of Science in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of British Columbia investigating immune host responses in malignant melanoma. He has a research interest in gastrointestinal malignancies and early onset colorectal cancer and works in Dr. Jonathan Loree’s research group at BC Cancer.

Jonathan Loree, Ph.D. is a medical oncologist at BC Cancer and Assistant Professor at The University of British Columbia. His research group focuses on translational research, biomarker development and health disparities in colorectal cancer and neuroendocrine malignancies.