Washington University professor recognized for breast cancer prevention research
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Adetunji T. Toriola, MD, PhD, MPH, will receive the AACR Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research at this year’s San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
The award — supported by Breast Cancer Research Foundation — recognizes an investigator whose significant and novel work has had or may have a far-reaching effect on breast cancer prevention, etiology, detection, diagnosis or treatment.
Toriola is professor of surgery in the division of public health sciences at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
He also is co-leader of the cancer prevention control program and William H. Danforth Washington University physician scholar at Siteman Cancer Center.
Toriola received the award for his research that identified molecular determinants of mammographic density and breast cancer risk that can be targeted in breast cancer prevention, particularly among premenopausal women.
Toriola was the first to report a positive association between mammographic breast density and RANK pathway gene expression among premenopausal women. His work showed the potential value of RANK pathway targeting for primary breast cancer prevention in this population.
Toriola’s work also showed plasma levels of RANK pathway proteins can serve as biomarkers of mammographic breast density among premenopausal women, and that RANK ligand signaling is linked to mammographic breast density among premenopausal women with high progesterone levels. These discoveries helped identify a subgroup of women who likely would derive benefit from RANK ligand inhibition for breast cancer prevention.
Toriola will deliver an award lecture at this year’s symposium titled “Breast cancer prevention in premenopausal women: Accelerating transition from discoveries to clinical translation.”
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