Dee W. West

Research Interests

Scientific interests: 1) cancer etiology (diet and familial), 2) cancer surveillance, and 3) cancer outcomes. Director of the Northern California Cancer Center (NCCC) from 1992-2002, currently Chief Scientific Officer. Professor of Epidemiology and Associate Director of Population Sciences at the Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center, since 2005.
In the 1970’s authored papers of diet and colon, stomach, and oral cancers in New York. In Utah, Principal Investigator (PI) for a Program Grant of diet and colon cancer. Created a nutrient database, including home preserved foods and examined diet by site in the colon - fat was related to cancer in the ascending colon and protein in the descending colon (West, et al. Am J. Epid. 130:883-894, 1989). Reported effects of iron, energy, physical activity, tobacco, alcohol, coffee, and caffeine. Pl of a study of diet and prostate cancer, publishing the effects body mass, tobacco, alcohol, coffee, tea, theobromine, cadmium, occupation, and dietary nutrients. Significant associations for older men with aggressive tumors - total energy and dietary fat had significant associations, while none were found for body mass, physical activity, zinc, cadmium, selenium, vitamin C, or Beta-carotene (West, et al. Cancer Causes and Control, 2:85-94, 1991). Published on genetic and non-genetic factors in androgen production and clearance, familial factors and plasma and sex-steroid levels, and nutrition on sex-steroid levels in male twins (Bishop, et al. Genetic Epidemiology, 5:43-59,1988).
In California, investigator in collaborative study of prostate cancer, finding dietary fat associated with prostate cancer but not inter-ethnic differences (Whittemore, et al. J Natl Cancer Inst, 87:652-61, 1995). Published papers on diet and thyroid cancer and diet and cancer in a cohort of California teachers (Horn-Ross, et al. Cancer Causes Control 13:407-415,2002).
In the 1980’s, published regarding cancer in Mormons and non-Mormons (West...

Publications

• BRCA2 mutation-associated breast cancers exhibit a distinguishing phenotype based on morphology and molecular profiles from tissue microarrays. Bane AL, Beck JC, Bleiweiss I, Buys SS, Catalano E, Daly MB, Giles G, Godwin AK, Hibshoosh H, Hopper JL, John EM, Layfield L, Longacre T, Miron A, Senie R, Southey MC, West DW, Whittemore AS, Wu H, Andrulis IL, O'Malley FP. Am J Surg Pathol. 2007; 31 (1): 121-8
• Lung cancer incidence in never smokers. Wakelee HA, Chang ET, Gomez SL, Keegan TH, Feskanich D, Clarke CA, Holmberg L, Yong LC, Kolonel LN, Gould MK, West DW. J Clin Oncol. 2007; 25 (5): 472-8
• No increased risk of breast cancer associated with alcohol consumption among carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations ages <50 years. McGuire V, John EM, Felberg A, Haile RW, Boyd NF, Thomas DC, Jenkins MA, Milne RL, Daly MB, Ward J, Terry MB, Andrulis IL, Knight JA, Godwin AK, Giles GG, Southey M, West DW, Hopper JL, Whittemore AS. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2006; 15 (8): 1565-7
• Breast and ovarian cancer in relatives of cancer patients, with and without BRCA mutations. Lee JS, John EM, McGuire V, Felberg A, Ostrow KL, DiCioccio RA, Li FP, Miron A, West DW, Whittemore AS. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2006; 15 (2): 359-63
• Oral contraceptive use and risk of early-onset breast cancer in carriers and noncarriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. Milne RL, Knight JA, John EM, Dite GS, Balbuena R, Ziogas A, Andrulis IL, West DW, Li FP, Southey MC, Giles GG, McCredie MR, Hopper JL, Whittemore AS. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005; 14 (2): 350-6