The Department of Preventive Medicine within the School of Medicine has an outstanding team of epidemiologists and occupational medicine specialists with a special interest in cancer and the environment. We have a long-standing relationship with the community to investigate concerns about possible disease clusters on Long Island. In addition, we have a strong interest and involvement with breast cancer research on Long Island. Currently we are conducting the Electromagnetic Fields and Breast Cancer on Long Island Study, which is investigating the possibility that electromagnetic fields increase the risk of breast cancer. This EMF study is federally funded and is one of the studies of the Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project.
The EMF and Breast Cancer on Long Island Study is a population based case-control study of women in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York. Women were eligible for this study if they participated in the Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project case-control study, were either diagnosed with breast cancer between August 1, 1996 and June 20, 1997 or were population based controls accrued through random-digit dialing (women ages 30-64) or HCFA files (over age 65), and lived in their current residence for 15 years or more.
The measurement protocol for the study was based on the results of a comprehensive pilot study. The measurement protocol included spot measurements (at the front door, bedroom and most lived in room), 24-hour measurements (bedroom and most lived-in room). Participants were queried on their use of electrical appliances, age of the home, number of years in the home, occupational history, electric train travel, and light-at-night. At a second visit, the wiring around the home was diagrammed by trained technicians. Results from this study will be available later this year.
Another potential resource for evaluating the impact of the environment on health for the local community is the Long Island Cancer Center, which appointed it first Director, Dr. John Kovach, this past year. The goal of the Long Island Cancer Center is to provide comprehensive cancer care to all Long Islander's while providing an environment to conduct both clinical and basic research into the causes and treatment of cancer.
There are many features of University at Stony Brook and the School of Medicine which present a unique opportunity to develop a truly comprehensive cancer program which integrates the best of academic research at a basic and translational level with clinical trials, patient care, community hospitals, community physicians and the community at large. The special aspects of the program are:
1 - University at Stony Brook Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology has a twenty-year history of working with the State Department of Health, the State of New York, and the Federal Government in studying the cancer problem on Long Island. This includes mapping potential toxic sites throughout the Island, the study of "hot spots'' of breast cancer on Long Island as part of the federally funded Long Island Breast Cancer Project, and cancer education in the schools, communities at large and community physicians. To facilitate these Long island epidemiology studies, the Department of Preventive Medicine has established mechanisms for data collection, storage, retrieval and analysis while assuring confidentiality of the data. This is a unique resource for a cancer center poised to apply advances in molecular biology and genomics to the problem of human cancer. The special opportunities available to Stony Brook and to the citizens of Long Island are to develop a population based cancer database focusing initially on breast and prostate cancer, two leading cancers in men and women respectfully in the United States.
2 - University at Stony Brook and the School of Medicine currently receive over $10 million annually in total support form the National Cancer Institute. This level of support is above the median support received by the 68 Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States.
3 - The University Stony Brook and the School of Medicine already possess four program grants from the National Institutes of Health. These attest to the quality and the integration of multiple investigators into cohesive programs, the hallmark of comprehensive centers. The awards include two program grants to explore environmental causes of genetic damage; a third grant in Tumor Virology and a fourth grant supporting General Clinical Research Center.
4 - The School of Medicine possesses outstanding expertise in all clinical aspects of cancer diagnosis and treatment. These include outstanding cancer surgery for brain, lung, gastrointestinal, breast and ovarian cancer; exceptional radiation oncology with state-of-the-art equipment; and excellent medical oncologists for children's cancers and adult cancers. The physicians consistently receive accolades from the public regarding their compassion and thorough care.
5 - The University at Stony Brook and Brookhaven National Laboratory have exceptional resources in computer sciences, applied mathematics, statistical genetics and biostatistics. Such depth in these areas is rarely found in a single comprehensive cancer center. These disciplines are increasingly important to medical research which relies more and more the receipt, storage, retrieval and analysis of massive amounts of data.
6 - Strong working research relationships and a single graduate/raining program between Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and University at Stony Brook and the School of Medicine provide special opportunities to bring basic biological research relevant to the cancer problem to an international level of quality. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has a cancer center grant from the National Cancer Institute for its basic science programs. With the completion of the Human Genome Project, an ability to relate variations in human genetic sequence to specific disease promises to provide un-paralleled insights into the causes of disease and lead to new mechanisms of disease prevention and cure. Cold Spring Harbor will benefit by access to physician scientists being recruited to the cancer center at Stony Brook.
7 - The close relationship between Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University provides unique resources for the cancer center such as access to the synchrotron light source for structural studies and to expertise relevant to development of advanced imaging capabilities. Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of Clinical Research at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Dr. Linda Chang, the new Medical Director of Brookhaven National Laboratory are national experts in advanced imaging procedures.
Imaging research is aided enormously by the capability of Brookhaven National Laboratory to generate a variety of short-lived isotopes useful for the labeling of proteins and for positron emission tomography (PET). Additional strength was added recently with the recruitment of Dr. Helene Benveniste from Duke University. She is an internationally recognized expert in micro-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the mouse. The State of New York recently provided $900,000 to establish for Dr. Benvenistea state-of-the-art micro-MRI instrument.
8 - Over the past six months, the Cancer Center has invited investigators from other institutions with the kind of expertise needed to enhance the comprehensive nature of the Long Island Cancer Center at Stony Brook. Eleven speakers have presented seminars to one or another of the focus groups of the cancer center. The consensus of these investigators, who are already well funded from the National Cancer Institute, is that there is outstanding science at the center and that the setting at University at Stony Brook is ideal from an academic standpoint.
Other University resources for the evaluation of the impact of the environment on health include the Long Island Groundwater Research Institute (LIGRI) which was established in 1994 to marshal the resources and expertise of the University for the study of groundwater hydrology and chemistry. One of the Institute's goals is to bring the results of scientific research to bear on the region's most pressing groundwater problems. Inquiries on all aspects of groundwater hydrology and chemistry are welcome.
The resolution of hydrogeological and groundwater pollution problems requires basic and applied research from a broad array of disciplines. The Institute coordinates and expands the existing potential for research by faculty, staff and students in groundwater hydrology. The Institute maintains close communication with ground-water professionals in the government and private sector in Long Island. Through the University's Center for Regional Policy Studies, a distinguished Advisory Council has been established with representation of agencies with management responsibilities. In 1997 the Institute was formally established by legislative act.
The Institute has become a member of ECAC joining the Maxwell School and College of Engineering and Computer Science at Syracuse University, the New York Water Resources Institute at Cornell University and the Darrin Fresh Water Institute at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The purpose of this group is to assist local communities to access institutional expertise and resources to provide outreach, education and support to government agencies through this state-wide effort. As part of this effort, the Institute has been asked to provide technical information to community groups (ABCO, NEARS) concerned with contamination at Brookhaven National Laboratories. The Institute also provided testimony for a joint legislative assembly hearing on water quality and quality issues sponsored by the Commission on Water Resource Needs, the Environmental Conservation Committee and the Task Force on Food, Farm and Nutrition.
Given the community's awareness and the importance of cancer on Long Island, we applaud today's hearing. As scientists studying the link between cancer and the environment, we recognize the need for a special effort and initiative in this area. We are prepared to lend our efforts to meet the challenge to improve the health of the population on Long Island.