Dr. Julia Knight — The Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute

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Dr. Julia Knight
SENIOR INVESTIGATOR

Breakthroughs in early detection and treatment of breast cancer have reduced the mortality rate for the disease by 25% since 1986, but 102 Canadian women will still die of breast cancer every week this year. By understanding the lifestyle and genetic factors that impact on breast cancer risk, Dr. Knight hopes to help prevent the disease from happening in the first place.

A Senior Investigator, Leader of the Prosserman Centre for Health Research, Head of the Henry S. Rosenberg Program in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, and an Associate Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, much of Dr. Knight’s work has focused on the role that environmental and genetic factors play in the risk of developing breast cancer.

Dr Knight released a study in 2007 that linked reduced breast cancer risk with increased vitamin D intake. The results were particularly interesting because they suggest that even though breast cancer often occurs at menopause or later, exposure to vitamin D may be most relevant to preventing the disease if taken during breast development.

In a study that focused on what influence melatonin has on breast cancer, Dr. Knight and her group discovered an additional link when they showed that that physical activity appears to increase melatonin levels, which decreases risk for breast cancer. Melatonin is a hormone produced at night and its production has been linked to cancer in several ways. In contrast, shift workers, who have a decreased level of melatonin, have been shown to have a higher risk of breast cancer.

Samuel Lunenfeld
Research Institute
Mount Sinai Hospital
Joseph & Wolf Lebovic Health Complex
600 University Avenue
Toronto Ontario M5G 1X5

Tel: 416-586-4800 ext.8701
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Jul 15, 2009 05:20 PM

At a Glance

Dr. Julia Knight studies breast cancer prevention in populations, leads the Prosserman Centre for Health Research, and is Head of the Henry S. Rosenberg Program in Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
She focuses on environmental and genetic factors in the risk of developing breast cancer.
She has found strong evidence to support the theory that vitamin D could help to prevent breast cancer.

Major Research Activities

Dr. Knight's team investigates the genetic and nongenetic causes of cancer, particularly breast cancer, in human populations. Her focus is on using epidemiological approaches to understand geneenvironment interactions in complex systems and the role of risk factors during breast development. Current specific factors of interest include vitamin D, alcohol, and melatonin.

Recent Publications

Mrkonjic M, Chappell E, Pethe V, Daftary D, Gallinger S, Manno M, Knight JA, Bapat B. Association of apolipoprotein E polymorphisms and dietary factors in colorectal cancer. Br J Cancer 100:1966-74, 2009.

Ahmed, S., Thomas, G., Ghoussaini, M., Healey, C.S., Platte, R., Humphreys, M.K., Morrison, J., Maranian, M., Luben, R., Eccles, D., Evans, G., Fletcher, O., Johnson, N., dos Santos Silva, I., Peto, J., Stratton, M.R., Rahman, N., Jacobs, K., Prentice, R., Anderson, G.L., Rajkovic, A., Curb, J.D., Ziegler, R.G., Berg, C.D., Buys, S.S., McCarty, S,S, Feigelson, H.S., Calle, E.E., Thun, M.J., Diver, W,R., Bojesen, S., Nordestgaard, B.G., Flyger, H., Dörk, T., Schürmann, P., Hillemanns, P., Karstens, J.H., Bogdanova, N.V., Antonenkova, N.N., Zalutsky, I.V., Bermisheva, M., Fedorova, S., Khusnutdinova, E., SEARCH, Kang, D., Yoo, K.Y., Noh, D.Y., Ahn, S,H., Devilee, P, , van Asperen, C.J., Tollenaar, R.A.E.M., Seynaeve, C., Garcia-Closas, M., Lissowska, J., Brinton, L., Peplonska, B., Nevanlinna, H., Heikkinen, T., Aittomäki, K., Blomqvist, C., Hopper, J.L., Southey, M.C., Smith, L., Spurdle, A.B., Schmidt, M.K., Broeks, A., van Hien, R.R., Cornelissen, S., Milne, R.L., Ribas, G., González-Neira, A., Benitez, J., Schmutzler, R.K., Burwinkel, B., Bartram, C.R., Meindl, A., Brauch, H., Justenhoven, C., Hamann, U., Ko, Y.D., Chang-Claude, J., Hein, R., Wang-Gohrke, S., Lindblom, A., Margolin, S., Mannermaa, A., Kosma, VM, Kataja, V, Olson, JE, Wang, X, Fredericksen, Z, Giles, GG, Severi, G, Baglietto, L, English, DR., Hankinson, S, Cox, DG, Kraft, P, Vatten. LJ, Hveem K, Kumle, M, Sigurdson, A, Doody, M, Bhatti, P, Alexander, BH, Hooning, MJ, van den Ouweland, AMW, Oldenburg, RA, Schutte, M, Hall, P, Czene, K, Liu, J, Li, Y, Cox, A, Elliott, G, Brock, I, Reed, MWR, Shen, CY, Yu, YC, Hsu, GC, Chen, ST, Anton-Culver, H, Ziogas. A, Andrulis, I.L., Knight, J.A., kConFab, Australian Ovarian Cancer Study Group, Beesley, J, Goode, EL, Couch, F, Chenevix-Trench, G., Hoover, RN, Ponder, BAJ, Hunter, DJ, Pharoah, PDP, Dunning, AM, Chanock, S and Easton, D.F. Novel breast cancer susceptibility loci on 3p24 and 17q23.2 Nat Genet 41:585-90, 2009.

Jang J-H, Cotterchio M, Gallinger SS, Knight JA, Daftary D. Family history of hormonal cancers and colorectal cancer risk: a case-control study conducted in Ontario. Int J Cancer 125:918-25, 2009.

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