Grant Title: Tamoxifen and Second Breast Cancer Epidemiology/Pathology
Study Title: Breast Cancer Research Investigation of Treatment Effects (BRITE)
Role: Co-Investigator
R01 CA097271 (Christopher Li, MD)

Brite is a population-based case-control study of contralateral breast cancer (CBC), also known as second primary breast cancer. The study aims to answer these questions.

1. How does use of adjuvant tamoxifen therapy for a first primary breast cancer influence risk of developing ER– and ER+ CBC, and how does duration of use modify this risk?
2. How does use of adjuvant tamoxifen therapy for a first primary breast cancer alter the expression of tumor markers involved in pathways leading to tamoxifen resistance in contralateral tumors, including ER subtypes, genes that control the cell cycle and apoptosis, and growth factors and their receptors?
3. Do the expression of these tumor markers by first primary breast cancers or other patient characteristics predict which women have increased or decreased risks of developing CBC if they are treated with adjuvant tamoxifen?
4. Among the women diagnosed with CBC, how does the use of tamoxifen alter the expression of these tumor markers in first compared to contralateral cancers?