Gertraud Maskarinec, M.D., Ph.D.

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Cancer Research Center of Hawaii

Gertraud Maskarinec, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Assistant Director for Research Training and Education;
Program Director, Post-Doctoral Training Program;
Graduate Faculty, Public Health Sciences & Epidemiology;
Graduate Faculty, Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences
MD, Universität Freiburg, Germany;
MPH (Epidemiology ), University of Hawaii;
Residency (Preventive Medicine), University of Hawaii;
PhD (Epidemiology), University of Hawaii
gertraud@crch.hawaii.edu

Publication list via PubMed

As part of the Epidemiology Program and as a physician in Preventive Medicine, my goal is to understand the etiology of cancer, in particular breast cancer, and to contribute to strategies of cancer prevention. My research focuses on breast cancer risk, in particular mammographic densities and hormone levels. Results from our nested case-control study within the Multiethnic Cohort confirmed the strong association between mammographic densities and breast cancer risk in all ethnic groups despite differences in breast size and percent density. With the help of these biomarkers, we investigated possible preventive effects of soy foods in intervention studies among women, girls, and men. Recently, our studies have expanded into the area of breast fluid collection and analysis. The idea is that hormone levels and breast cells in breast fluid may provide us with a better understanding of how preventive agents affect breast tissue. The soy related research builds on the opportunities offered by the ethnically diverse population of Hawaii, the geographic proximity to Japan, the Nutrition Shared Resource, and the Analytical Laboratory with expertise in isoflavone assessment. We are currently investigating the effects of soy foods on breast cancer risk among premenopausal women. Women participating in the BEAN study BEAN study consume 2 daily servings of soy foods for 6 months, eat their regular diet for another 6 months, and donate breast fluid and blood samples repeatedly. Since there is considerable experimental and epidemiologic research suggesting that soy may have a stronger influence on breast development during childhood and adolescence than during adulthood, we are developing a DXA based method to monitor breast growth among girls and young women. In other research interests, overweight and obesity have been a part of several of our investigations, both as a risk factor for breast cancer and in association with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

Active Grants
G. Maskarinec, Principal Investigator
R01CA080843
"Effects of Soy on Estrogens in Breast Fluid and Urine"
September 9, 1999-February 28, 2011

G. Maskarinec, Principal Investigator
R03CA130061
"Inflammatory Markers in a 2-Year Soy Intervention among Premenopausal Women"
September 1, 2007-August 31, 2009

G. Maskarinec, Principal Investigator
R21DK073816
"Nutritional Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes in the Multiethnic Cohort"
May 1, 2007-April 30, 2009

G. Maskarinec, Principal Investigator
BC060615
"Breast Density Assessment by Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry in Women and Girls"
June 18, 2007-June 17, 2009

G. Maskarinec, Principal Investigator
R25CA090956
"Nutritional & Behavioral Cancer Prevention in a Multiethnic Population"
February 1, 2001-August 31, 2013

Selected Publications
Maskarinec G, Hebshi S, Custer L, Franke AA. The Relation of Soy Intake and Isoflavone Levels in Nipple Aspirate Fluid. European Journal of Cancer Prevention 2008; 17:67-70.

Shepherd JA, Malkov S, Fan B, Laidevant A, Novotny R, Maskarinec G. Breast Density Assessment in Adolescent Girls using DXA: A Feasibility Study. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention 2008; 17:1709-13.

Maskarinec G, Erber E, Gill J, Cozen W, Kolonel LN. Overweight and Obesity at Different times in Life as Risk Factors for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: The Multiethnic Cohort. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention 2008; 17:196-203.

Maskarinec G, Pagano I, Chen Z, Nagata C, Gram IT. Ethnic and geographic differences in mammographic density and their association with breast cancer incidence. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 2007; 104:47-56.

Maskarinec G, Takata Y, Pagano I, Carlin L, Goodman MT, Le Marchand L, Nomura AM, Wilkens LR, Kolonel LN. Trends and dietary determinants of overweight and obesity in a multiethnic population. Obesity 2006; 14:717-26.

Maskarinec G, Pagano I, Lurie G, Wilkens LR, Kolonel LN. Mammographic density and breast cancer risk: The Multiethnic Cohort. American Journal of Epidemiology 2005; 162:743-752.

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