Page 32 - Hormel Institute Annual Report 2021-22
P. 32

 Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, PhD
 “Breast cancer is the most common malignant cancer in women around the globe and among the leading causes of cancer deaths in women. The causes of breast cancer remain largely unknown. Nutrition, obesity, and other life-style factors, such as social stress, have a profound impact on breast cancer risk and response to breast cancer therapies. About 50,000 new cases of cancer in US, especially breast cancer, are attributed to obesity, and socially isolated breast cancer survivors have a 43% higher risk of recurrence and a 64% higher risk of breast cancer-specific
mortality than socially integrated survivors.”
Leena Hilakivi-Clarke
 32 | THE HORMEL INSTITUTE Women’s Health
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR FACULTY AFFAIRS / PROFESSOR
// UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
  We perform preclinical studies to identify targetable mechanisms that increase breast cancer risk and mortality in
women born to an overweight or obese mother, women exposed to endocrine disrupting chem- icals in utero, or women who experience social isolation stress. The mechanisms studied include changes in the epigenome, gut microbiome, and tumor immune microenvironment, and how they might cause low-grade chronic inflammation and impair mitochondrial metabolism. We also study the mechanisms of potential harmful influence of social isolation on breast cancer development and mortality. Instead of targeting the potential mediating mechanisms with compounds that mainly act on a single gene, we study dietary factors that have multiple beneficial targets.
These dietary factors include n-3 polyunsatu- rated fats, vitamin D and various plant-derived compounds. Our most recent work involves investigating if dietary factors modify the response to cancer immunotherapies via modulation of the gut microbiota.
Current research projects
Mechanisms mediating the effects of social isolation on increased mammary cancer risk
and mortality with focus on gut microbiome and tumor immune response. In this study, we are investigating the mechanisms that mediate the impact of social isolation on breast cancer risk and mortality. In particular, we are investigating if the increase in low-grade chronic inflammation, as indicated by an over-activation of IL6/STAT3 signaling, impaired tumor immune response and/ or mitochondrial dysfunction in socially isolated individuals is mediated by gut dysbiosis.
     





















































































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