Dr. Engel's main research interests are in environmental and occupational risk factors for cancer and the role of genetic susceptibility. He is especially interested in pesticides and persistent organic pollutants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins. Dr. Engel, together with colleagues at the National Cancer Institute, Centers for Disease Control, and Norwegian Cancer Registry, is conducting a study of organochlorine levels in serum collected in the mid-1970s and the risk of selected cancers (cancers of the pancreas, endometrium, testes, prostate, brain, ovary, and melanoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and leukemia). In related research, he is conducting a pilot case-control study of blood levels of dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, and PCBs in relation to risk of soft tissue sarcoma. He is also involved in a study of pesticide use and neurological symptoms in a large cohort of farmers and their wives in Iowa and North Carolina. To better understand the genetic and non-genetic factors contributing to the etiology of esophageal adenocarcinoma, Dr. Engel is working with Hans Gerdes, MD, to establish a Barrett's Esophagus Registry at MSKCC. Patients enrolled in this registry will be followed over time, with periodic interviews and collection of biological specimens, to help identify factors that contribute to the progression of Barrett's esophagus to esophageal adenocarcinoma and that could be used for screening or intervention purposes. In a related study within the Cancer Research Network, a consortium of research HMOs, he is examining associations between the use of certain medications and the risk of esophageal cancers.
Selected Bibliography:
1. Engel LS, Keifer MC, Zahm SH. Comparison of a traditional questionnaire with an icon/calendar-based questionnaire to assess occupational history. Am J Ind Med 2001; 40:502-511.
2. Engel LS, Vaughan TL, Gammon MD, Chow WH, Risch HA, Dubrow R, Mayne ST, Rotterdam H, Schoenberg JB, Stanford JL, West AB, Blot WJ, Fraumeni JF. Occupation and risk of esophageal and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma. Am J Ind Med 2002;42:11-22.
3. Engel LS, Taioli E, Pfeiffer R, Garcia-Closas M, Marcus PM, Lan Q, Boffetta P, Vineis P, Autrup H, Bell DA, Branch RA, Brockmoller J, Daly AK, Heckbert SR, Kalina I, Kang D, Katoh T, Lafuente A, Lin HJ, Romkes M, Taylor JA, Rothman N. Pooled analysis and meta-analysis of glutathione S-transferase M1 and bladder cancer: a HuGE review. Am J Epidemiol 2002; 156:95-109.
4. Engel LS, Chow WH, Vaughan TL, Gammon MD, Risch HA, Stanford JL, Schoenberg JB, Mayne ST, Dubrow R, Rotterdam H, West AB, Blaser M, Blot WJ, Gail MH, Fraumeni JF. Population attributable risks of esophageal and gastric cancers. J Natl Cancer Inst 2003;95:1404-1413.
5. Engel LS, Hill DA, Hoppin JA, Lubin JH, Lynch CF, Pierce J, Samanic C, Sandler DP, Blair A, Alavanja MC. Pesticide Use and Breast Cancer Risk among Farmers' Wives in the Agricultural Health Study. Am J Epidemiol 2005;161:121-35.
