PCR-based Biomarker for Cancer Screening and Diagnosis

Current screening methodologies used to detect CRC are blood in stool tests (FOBT), colonoscopy, and sigmoidoscopy . For any of the  three screening methods, effectiveness is limited however because of low compliance in patient preparation.

Decoding the Environmental Stress Response in Lung Diseases

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is an irreversible disease caused by environmental stress factors such as cigarette smoking, air pollution and respiratory infection. COPD is the 4th leading cause of mortality in the US (16M in US, 210 M people worldwide) and expected to be 3rd by 2020. Between 15-20% of smokers develop COPD. Only one gene is known to cause COPD (?1-antitrypsin) and contributes to less than 5% of COPD. COPD is a dis

Chemotherapy - Modulated Vaccination for Breast Cancer: From Bench to Bedside

Approximately 40% of women diagnosed with breast cancer ultimately relapse. When relapse occurs, their disease is considered incurable. The challenge is to decrease the rate of relapse and develop better drug therapies for managing metastatic disease so that people can live longer. Dr. Emens is interested in developing a new approach to treating breast cancer by engaging the patients’ own immune system to seek out and destroy cancer cells. Em

Is Maryland a High Cancer Incidence State? Results from the Maryland Cancer Registry

For years Maryland has ranked among the top states in cancer mortality. However, as a result of programs such as the Maryland Cigarette Restitution Fund, which has provided education, prevention and screening for early detection, Maryland has seen a downward trend in cancer mortality. Maryland now ranks 19th among the states and DC, a change from 2nd two decades ago. It’s likely that the Maryland CRF has had a significant impact on this reducti

Pancreatic Cancer: Epidemiology in the Post-Genomic Era

Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer deaths in the US in men and women, and represents about 2 percent of all cancer diagnoses world-wide. The average age on onset is 71 years of age. Many of the signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancers are not very specific to the disease itself. There are no reliable screening tests available for pancreatic cancer, which is why it is diagnosed late. Genes play an important role in the developmen

Hormones and Men’s Health: Findings from the Hormone Demonstration Program

The purpose of the Hormone Demonstration Program is to maximize the utility of the hormone data that is being generated from NHANES III to answer questions about men’s health, including prostate cancer and aging. We have patterned the Hormone Demonstration Program on the Prostate Cancer Demonstration Program. This Program is funded by the Maryland Cigarette Restitution Fund at Johns Hopkins. This is a highly collaborative process, with attendees

Human Papillomavirus and Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

There are approximately 400,000 cases of head and neck cancer diagnosed world-wide each year. Head and neck cancer has a high mortality rate which has not improved in the past decade. Each year in the United Stated there are about 30,000 new head and neck cancer cases (~4,650 oropharyngeal cases) making it the sixth most common malignancy. HPV (Human Papillomavirus) is a small circular DNA virus only known to infect humans. The virus specifically

Does Economic Development Influence the Development of Cancer in Industrialized Nations?

We know that disparities in life expectancy, disability-adjusted life years, overall mortality and cancer mortality can develop as a result of regional variation, unique environmental, or differential socioeconomic circumstances. Factors such as economic development, diet, tobacco, alcohol consumption, health care expenditures and education levels, play a significant role in the incidence of cancer in industrialized nations and generally economic