SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2004 - Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

C A N C E R P R E V E N T I O N A N D C O N T R O L P R O G R A M
HIGHLIGHTS/DISCOVERIES
• Research on human health effects of marine and
freshwater toxins—blue green algae, or
cyanobacteria, are microorganisms at the base
of the food and oxygen chain. The blue green
algae easily grow in fresh water reservoirs, sometimes
producing large amounts of toxins. These
natural toxins can be carcinogenic and have
been associated with an increased risk of liver
cancer in animals and humans in China; furthermore,
normal drinking water treatment
does not completely remove these toxins.
Therefore, using the technology of geographic
information systems (GIS) to store, analyze,
and display the data, Dr. Fleming and her colleagues
showed that there may be an increased
risk of liver cancer in Florida for persons living
near surface water treatment plants with possible
blue green algal toxin contamination. This
study was performed in collaboration with the
FCDS, the University of Miami NIEHS Marine
and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center,
and the Rosenstiel School of Marine and
Atmospheric Sciences, as well as the St. Johns
River Management District. Funding for this
study was provided by the Florida Harmful Algal
Bloom Taskforce at the Florida Marine Research
Institute.
• Examination of the cancer risks associated with
firefighting in Florida—this study did not find
evidence of an excess risk of lung or brain cancer
in firefighters as documented in prior mortality
studies. The study does, however, suggest
that a significantly increased risk of bladder
cancer among male firefighters might be related
to occupational exposure, rather than tobacco
use. This is the largest known study of
firefighters to date.
MARY ANN A. FLETCHER, PH.D.
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
DESCRIPTION OF RESEARCH
Dr. Fletcher is interested in studying immunologic
changes during stress management in
breast cancer and cervical neoplasia. She has collaborated
with Michael H. Antoni, Ph.D., Gail H.
Ironson, M.D., Ph.D., and Neil Schneiderman,
Ph.D., for the past 17 years on NIH-funded
projects examining the immunological effects of
stress management in persons with HIV infection,
women at risk for cervical cancer, and
women undergoing treatment for early-to-midstage
breast cancer.
Dr. Fletcher is the director of the E.M.
Papper Laboratory of Clinical Immunology. This
laboratory has been an important core facility for
mind-body research at the University of Miami
for many years. Much of their research has been
cancer related. Currently, the laboratory supports
the P50 Center for Psycho-Oncology Research
(CPOR), which is assessing the effects of cognitive-behavioral
stress management (CBSM) on
both psychological and biological parameters in
patients with breast cancer and prostate cancer
and with cervical hyperplasia. The laboratory
functions as a Biological Assessment Core to
coordinate the collection, storage, and assaying
of immune indices of cytotoxic and helper cell
function (cytokine-stimulated natural killer cytotoxicity
(NKCC), ELISPOT, quantitative flow
cytometric measurement of surface and intracellular
molecules, including activation and differentiation
markers as well as cytokines, perforin, and
granzymes). By ELISA assays, the laboratory
measures Th1 (g-IFN, IL-2, IL-12), Th2 (IL-4,
IL-5, IL-6, and IL-10), and proinflamatory (IL-1,
IL-6, and TNF-α) cytokines as well as receptors
of these cytokines in body fluids and lymphocyte
culture supernatants. Standardized assays are used
for soluble markers of disease activity (CA 15.3,
PSA, VEGF, etc.) in blood samples collected
from cancer patients and controls.
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UM/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center Scientific Report 2004