Anna Wu, PhD

Professor Emerita

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Overview

Dr. Wu’s research focuses on the epidemiology of cancer with emphasis on understanding the increase of various (e.g., breast, ovarian, colon) cancers among Asian migrants to the US. A unifying theme of my research is to identify modifiable lifestyle and environmental factors to reduce the risk of specific cancers and to improve outcomes among those diagnosed with cancer. In addition to observational epidemiologic studies, I have conducted a series of controlled intervention studies to investigate the short-term effects of dietary (e.g., soy, green tea) and hormonal (e.g., oral contraceptives) agents on breast-tissue (e.g., mammographic density) and circulating sex hormones and other biomarkers.
Since 2014, I began to use the well-established Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) to address research questions on environmental exposures (e.g., air pollution, endocrine disrupting chemicals) that have been challenging to study. In addition, I am participating in two multicenter survivorship studies on breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

Education and Training

  • University of California, Los Angeles — PhD — 1983 — Epidemiology

Publications

  • The functional ALDH2 polymorphism is associated with breast cancer risk: A pooled analysis from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. Mol Genet Genomic Med. 2019 06; 7(6):e707.. View in PubMed
  • A Pooled Analysis of Breastfeeding and Breast Cancer Risk by Hormone Receptor Status in Parous Hispanic Women. Epidemiology. 2019 05; 30(3):449-457.. View in PubMed
  • Association between ambient air pollution and breast cancer risk: The multiethnic cohort study. Int J Cancer. 2020 02 01; 146(3):699-711.. View in PubMed
  • Evaluation of vitamin D biosynthesis and pathway target genes reveals UGT2A1/2 and EGFR polymorphisms associated with epithelial ovarian cancer in African American Women. Cancer Med. 2019 05; 8(5):2503-2513.. View in PubMed
  • Green Tea Catechin Extract Supplementation Does Not Influence Circulating Sex Hormones and Insulin-Like Growth Factor Axis Proteins in a Randomized Controlled Trial of Postmenopausal Women at High Risk of Breast Cancer. J Nutr. 2019 04 01; 149(4):619-627.. View in PubMed
  • Joint exposure to smoking, excessive weight, and physical inactivity and survival of ovarian cancer patients, evidence from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium. Cancer Causes Control. 2019 May; 30(5):537-547.. View in PubMed
  • Body mass index, comorbidities, and hormonal factors in relation to meningioma in an ethnically diverse population: the Multiethnic Cohort. Neuro Oncol. 2019 03 18; 21(4):498-507.. View in PubMed
  • Genetic variant predictors of gene expression provide new insight into risk of colorectal cancer. Hum Genet. 2019 Apr; 138(4):307-326.. View in PubMed
  • No Association Between Vitamin D Status and Risk of Barrett’s Esophagus or Esophageal Adenocarcinoma: A Mendelian Randomization Study. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019 10; 17(11):2227-2235.e1.. View in PubMed
  • Novel Common Genetic Susceptibility Loci for Colorectal Cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2019 02 01; 111(2):146-157.. View in PubMed