Epidemiologist, Department of Medicine
Brigham and Women's Hospital

sue.hankinson@channing.harvard.edu

In 1989-90 we collected blood samples from 32,826 Nurses' Health Study cohort members who were 43 to 69 years of age at collection. Each woman arranged to have her blood drawn and then shipped to our laboratory where it is separarted into plasma, RBC and buffy coat components. The samples have been frozen since collection. Using these samples, we are currently studying the relationship between plasma and genetic markers of disease risk, using a nested case-control study approach. Topics currently being evaluated include endogenous hormones and breast cancer risk, plasma nutrients and risk of both colon and breast cancer and adenomatous polyps. We have also collected blood samples from about 30,000 women in the Nurses' Health Study II cohort in which to study these same relationships among younger (predominately premenopausal) women, particularly the relation between premenopausal hormone levels and subsequent disease risk.

Our research group also is evaluating a wide range of lifestyle factors in relation to risks of breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers. Substantial work has been done in the area of breast cancer and increasing effort is being focused on ovarian and endometrial cancers. We are evaluating reproductive factors (e.g., contraceptive use), body weight and dietary intake, among others. We also are evaluating risk factors for cataract, age-related macular degeneration and primary open angle glaucoma, three major causes of visual impairment in adults, using data from both the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study. To date, a number of risk factors have been evaluated, including cigarette smoking, dietary intake and vitamin supplement use; further analyses are ongoing. Over the next several years, our studies should add considerably to our knowledge of ways to prevent these three major eye diseases.

Hankinson SE, Colditz GA, Manson JE, Willett WC, Hunter DJ, Stampfer MJ, Speizer FE. A prospective study of oral contraceptive use and risk of breast cancer (Nurses' Health Study, United States). Cancer Causes Control 1997;8:65-72. [abstract]

Hankinson SE, Willett WC, Colditz GA, Hunter DJ, Michaud DS, Deroo B, Rosner B, Speizer FE, Pollak M. Circulating concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-I and risk of breast cancer. Lancet 1998;351:1393-6. [abstract]

Hankinson SE, Willett WC, Manson JE, Colditz GA, Hunter DJ, Spiegelman D, Barbieri RL, Speizer FE. Plasma sex steroid hormone levels and risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. J Natl Cancer Inst 1998;90:1292-9. [abstract]

Hankinson SE, Willett WC, Michaud DS, Manson JE, Colditz GA, Longcope C, Rosner B, Speizer FE. Plasma prolactin levels and subsequent risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. J Natl Cancer Inst 1999;91:629-34. [abstract]

Gertig DM, Hunter DJ, Cramer DW, Colditz GA, Speizer FE, Willett WC, Hankinson SE. Prospective study of talc use and ovarian cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2000 Feb 2;92(3):249-52. [abstract]

Byrne C, Colditz GA, Willett WC, Speizer FE, Pollak M, Hankinson SE. Plasma insulin-like growth factor (IGF) I, IGF-binding protein 3, and mammographic density. Cancer Res. 2000 Jul 15;60(14):3744-8. [abstract]

Cho E, Hung S, Willett WC, Spiegelman D, Rimm EB, Seddon JM, Colditz GA, Hankinson SE. Prospective study of dietary fat and the risk of age-related macular degeneration. Am J Clin Nutr. 2001 Feb;73(2):209-18. [abstract]