Areas of Major Interest

    Diet-gene interactions relevant to cancer prevention, particularly the molecular and hormonal mechanisms underlying energy balance-cancer associations.

Education and Previous Positions

    Dr. Hursting earned a BA in biology from Earlham College and a Ph.D. in nutritional biochemistry and an MPH in nutritional epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also completed postdoctoral training in molecular biology and cancer prevention as a Cancer Prevention Fellow at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). From 1995 to 1999, Dr. Hursting was an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Carcinogenesis at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer, where he directed a multidisciplinary research program in nutrition and cancer prevention. He continues his affiliation with his former departments at the MD Anderson Cancer Center as a Professor of Carcinogenesis and Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology.
    From 1999-2005, Dr. Hursting was Deputy Director of the NCI's Office of Preventive Oncology, Division of Cancer Prevention. He was responsible for all aspects of the NCI's Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program. Dr. Hursting was also an Investigator in the NCI's Center for Cancer Research, where he was Chief of the Nutrition and Molecular Carcinogenesis Section of the NCI's Laboratory of Biosystems and Cancer. His research program focuses on the nutritional modulation of the carcinogenesis process, with a particular emphasis on the molecular, cellular and hormonal changes underlying important nutrition and cancer associations, with a focus on energy balance/obesity.

Representative Publications: Past Four Years

Hursting SD, Lavigne JA, Berrigan DA, Perkins SN, Barrett JC. Calorie restriction, aging and cancer prevention: Mechanisms of action and applicability to humans. Ann Rev Med 2003; 54:131-52

Li S, Hursting SD, Davis BJ, McLachlan J, Barrett JC. Environmental exposure, DNA methylation and gene regulation: Lessons from diethylstilbesterol-induced cancers. Ann NY Acad Sci 2003; 983:161-69

Mai V, Colbert LH, Berrigan D, Perkins SN, Pfeiffer R, Lavigne JA, Lanza E, Haines DC, Schatzkin A, Hursting SD. Calorie restriction and diet composition modulate spontaneous intestinal tumorigenesis in APCMin mice through different mechanisms. Cancer Res 2003; 63:1752-55

Colbert LH, Mai V, Perkins SN, Berrigan D, Lavigne JA, Wimbrow HH, Alvord WG, Haines DC, Srinivas P, Hursting SD. Exercise and intestinal polyp development in APCMin mice. Med Sci Sports Exercise 2003; 35:1662-9

Eng-Wong J, Hursting SD, Perkins SN, Zujewski J. Effects of raloxifene on insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, IGF-binding protein-3 and leptin in premenopausal women at high risk for breast cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2003; 12:1468-73.

Zeytin HE, Patel A, Rogers CJ, Canter D, Hursting SD, Schlom J, Greiner JW. Combination of a Poxvirus-based vaccine with a cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor (Celecoxib) effects anti-tumor immunity and long-term survival in CEA.TG/Min mice. Cancer Res 2004; 64:3668-78.

Forman M, Hursting SD, Umar A, Barrett JC. Nutrition and Cancer Prevention: A multidisciplinary perspective on nutrition and cancer prevention trials (invited review). Ann Rev Nutr 2004; 24:223-54.

Nebeling L, Rogers CJ, Berrigan D, Hursting SD, Ballard-Barbash R. Weight cycling and immunocompetence. J Am Diet Assoc 2004; 104(6):892-4.

Nunez NP, Jelovac D., Berrigan D, Perkins SN, Hursting SD, Barrett JC, Brodie A. Effects of the antiestrogen tamoxifen and the aromatase inhibitor letrozole on tumor growth, serum hormones, and bone characteristics in a pre-clinical tumor model for breast cancer. Clin Cancer Res 2004; 10:215-21.

Hursting SD, Perkins SN, Berrigan D, Lavigne JA, Davis BJ, Barrett JC. Diet-gene interactions in p53-deficient mice: IGF-1 as a molecular target. J Nutr 2004; 134:2482S-2486S.

Takahashi Y, Lavigne JA, Hursting SD, Chandramouli GVR, Perkins SN, Barrett JC, Wang TTY. Using DNA microarray analyses to elucidate genistein's effects in androgen-dependent prostate cancer cells: Identification of novel targets for cancer prevention. Mol Carcinogenesis 2004; 41:108-119.

Lavigne JA, Wimbrow HH, Clevidence BA, Albert PS, Reichman ME, Campbell WS, Barrett JC, Hursting SD, Judd JT, Taylor PR. Effects of alcohol and menstrual cycle on insulin-like growth factor-1 and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2004; 13:2264-7.

Patel AC, Nunez NP, Perkins SN, Barrett JC, Hursting SD. Effects of energy balance on cancer in genetically altered mice. J Nutr 2004; 134:3394S-8S.

Chang S, Hursting SD, Perkins SN, Dores GM, Weed DL. Adapting postdoctoral training to interdisciplinary science in the 21st century. Acad Med 2005; 80:261-5.

Lubet RA, Christov K, Nunez N, Hursting SD, Steele VE, Juliana MM, Eto I, Grubbs CJ. Effects of the RXR agonist targretin in the methylnitrosourea-induced mammary cancer model: Dose response curves, cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis, and serum IGF-1 levels. Carcinogenesis 2005; 26:441-8.

Hursting SD, Nunez NP, Patel A, Perkins SN, Lubet RA, Barrett JC. The utility of genetically altered mouse models for cancer prevention research. Mut Res 2005; 576:80-92.

Palmieri D, Halverson D, Ouatas T, Horak C, Salerno M, Johnson J, Figg WD, Hollingshead M, Hursting SD, Berrigan D, Steinberg S, Merino MJ, Steeg PS. Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) elevates the metastasis tumor suppressor expression and inhibits the metastatic colonization of hormone receptor negative breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 2005; 97:632-42.

Berrigan D, Lavigne JA, Perkins SN, Nagy TR, Barrett JC, Hursting SD. Effects of calorie restriction and insulin-like growth factor-1 on body composition and bone mineral density of C57BL/6 mice. In Vivo 2005; 19:667-74.

Lavigne JA, Baer DJ, Wimbrow HH, Albert PS, Brown ED, Judd JT, Campbell WS, Giffen CA, Dorgan JF, Hartman TJ, Barrett JC, Hursting SD, Taylor PR. Effects of alcohol on insulin-like growth factor-1 and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 in postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr 2005; 81:503-7.

Fenton JI, Hord NG, Lavigne JA, Perkins SN, Hursting SD. Leptin, IGF-1 and IGF-2 are mitogens in murine models of preneoplastic, but not normal, colonic epithelial cells. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2005; 14:1646-52.

Motoslavsky R, Chua KF, Lombard DB, Pang WW, Fisher MR, Gellon L, Liu P, Motoslavsky G, Franco S, Murphy M, Mills KD, Patel P, Hsu JT, Hong AL, Ford E, Cheng H, Kennedy C, Nunez N, Bronson R, Frendeway D, Aurbach W, Valenzuela D, Karow M, Hottiger MO, Hursting SD, Barrett JC, Guarente L, Mulligan R, Demple B, Yancopoulos GD, Alt FW. Genomic instability and aging-like phenotype in the absence of mammalian SIRT6. Cell 2006; 124:1-15.

Colbert LH, Mai V, Tooze JA, Perkins SN, Berrigan D, Hursting SD. Negative energy balance induced by voluntary wheel running inhibits polyp development in APCMin mice. Carcinogenesis 2006; 27: 2103-7.

Dores GM, Chang S, Berger VW, Perkins SN, Hursting SD, Weed DL. Evaluating research training outcomes: experience from the cancer prevention fellowship program at the National Cancer Institute. Acad Med 2006; 81(6): 535-41.

Fenton JI, Hursting SD, Perkins SN, Hord NG. Interleukin-6 production induced by leptin treatment promotes cell proliferation in an Apc (Min/+) colon epithelial cell line. Carcinogenesis 2006; 27: 1507-15.

Nunez NP, Oh WJ, Rozenberg J, Perella C, Anver M, Barrett JC, Perkins SN, Berrigan D, Moitra J, Varticovski L, Hursting SD, Vinson C. Accelerated tumor formation in a fatless mouse with type 2 diabetes and inflammation. Cancer Res 2006; 66(10): 5469-76.

Takahashi Y, Hursting SD, Perkins SN, Wang TC, Wang TT. Genistein affects androgen-responsive genes through both androgen- and estrogen-induced signaling pathways. Mol Carcinogenesis 2006.

Fenton JI, Hursting SD, Perkins SN, Hord NG. Leptin induces an Apc genotype-associated colon epithelial cell chemokine production pattern associated with macrophage chemotaxis and activation. Carcinogenesis 2007; 28:455-64.

Mai V, Colbert LH, Perkins SN, Schatzkin A, Hursting SD. Intestinal microbiota: A potential diet-responsive prevention target in Apc (Min) mice. Mol Carcinogenesis 2007; 46:42-8.

Takahashi Y, Lavigne JA, Hursting SD, Chandramouli GV, Perkins SN, Kim YS, Wang TT. Molecular signatures of soy-derived phytochemicals in androgen-responsive prostate cancer cells: A comparison study using DNA microarray. Mol Carinog 2006; ; 45:943-56.

Yakar S, Nunez NP, Pennisi P, Brodt P, Fallavollita H, Zhao H, Stannard B, East-Palmer J, Scavo L, Smith CP, Perkins SN, Fuchs-Young R, Barrett JC, Hursting SD, LeRoith D. Increased tumor growth in mice with diet-induced obesity: Impact of ovarian hormones. Endocrinol 2006; 147:5826-34.

Nunez NP, Carpenter CL, Berrigan D, Jaque SV, Ingles SA, Perkins SN, Bernstein L, Forman MR, Barrett JC, Hursting SD. Extreme obesity reduces bone density: Complementary evidence from mice and women. Obesity Res 2006; (in press).

Hursting SD, Lashinger L, Colbert LH, Rogers CJ, Nunez N, Wheatley K, Mahabir S, Barrett JC, Forman MR, Perkins SN. Energy balance and carcinogenesis: Underlying pathways and targets for intervention. Curr Cancer Drug Targ 2007; 7:325-34.

Takahashi Y, Perkins SN, Hursting SD, Wang TT. 17-Beta estradiol differentially regulates androgen-responsive genes through estrogen receptor-beta- and extracellular-signal regulated kinase-dependent pathways in LNCaP human prostate cancer cells. Mol Carcinogenesis 2007; 46:117-29.

Varticovski L, Hollingshead MG, Carter JP, Borgel SD, Stotler H, Bonomi CA, Anver MR, Robles AI, Nunez N, Hursting SD, Deng CX, Green JE, Hunter KW, Merlino G, Steeg PS, Wakefield LM, Barrett JC. Accelerated preclinical testing using transplanted tumors from genetically engineered mouse breast cancer models. Clin Cancer Res 2007; 13:2168-77.

Hursting SD, Nunez NP, Varticovski L, Vinson C. The obesity-cancer link: Lessons learned from a fatless mouse. Cancer Res 2007; 67:2391-3.

Hance KW, Rogers CJ, Hursting SD, Greiner JG. Combination of nutrition, physical activity or other environmental factors and vaccine responses. Frontiers in Bioscience 12:5001-5029, 2007.

Williams E, Perkins SN, Smith N, Hursting SD, Lane MA. Carbohydrate restriction vs. dietary energy restriction effects on weight loss in obese mice: Metabolic insights. Ann Nutr Metab 2007; 51:232-243.

Hudson TS, Hartle DK, Hursting SD, Nunez NP, Wang TTY, Young HA, Arany P, Green JE. Inhibition of prostate cancer growth by muscadine grape skin extract and resveratrol through distinct mechanisms. Cancer Res 2007; 67:1-10.

Nunez, NP, Carpenter CL, Perkins SN, Berrigan D, Jaque SV, Ingles SA, Bernstein L, Forman MR, Barrett JC, Hursting SD. Extreme obesity reduces bone mineral density: complementary evidence from mice and women. Obesity 2007; 15:1980-7.

Fenton JI, Lavigne JA, Perkins SN, Liu H, Gadisetti CVR, Shih JH, Hord NG, Hursting SD. Microarray analysis reveals that leptin induces autocrine/paracrine cascades to promote survival and proliferation of colon epithelial cells in Apc genotype-dependent fashion. Mol Carcinogenesis 2007 (Epub ahead of print July 9, 2007).

Lavigne JA, Takahashi Y, Liu H, Shih J, Perkins SN, Hursting SD, Wang TTY. Concentration-dependent effects of genistein on global gene expression in MCF-7 breast cancer cells: an oligo microarray study. Breast Cancer Research Treatment 2007 (Epub ahead of print Aug. 10, 2007).

Rogers CJ, Colbert LH, Berrigan D, Greiner JW, Perkins SN, Hursting SD. Physical activity and cancer prevention: Pathways and targets for intervention. Sports Medicine 2007 (in press).

Wheatley KE, Williams EA, Smith NCP, Young E, Dillard AC, Nunez NP, Hursting SD, Lane MA. Low-carbohydrate diet versus calorie restriction: Effects on weight loss, hormones and Wnt-1 mammary tumor growth in obese C57BL/6 mice. Nutr Cancer 2007, in press.

Nunez NP, Perkins SN, Smith NCP, Berrigan D, Berendes DM, Varticovski L, Barrett JC, Hursting SD. Obesity accelerates mouse mammary tumor growth in the absence of ovarian hormones. Nutr Cancer 2007, in press.

Lavigne JA, Hursting SD. Cancer Prevention from a Biological Perspective. In: Essentials for Public Health Biology. Jones and Bartlett Publishing, Boston, in press, 2007.

Rogers, C. J., Berrigan D., Zaharoff, D.A., Hance, K.W., Patel, A.C., Perkins, S.N., Schlom J., Greiner J.G., and Hursting, S.D. Exercise and calorie restriction differentially alter systemic and mucosal immunity. J Nutr, in press.

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