Starting date: January 2021
Work Programme
The overarching aim of the Hormones and Metabolism Team (HorM) is to advance research on the role of hormones and metabolism in cancer etiology, building on established molecular epidemiology studies on hormone-dependent cancers.
Within this context, HorM will:
- study the association between hormones, inflammation, metabolic imbalance, and cancer, with a focus on cancers of the breast, endometrium, ovary, and thyroid;
- investigate the role of biomarkers in mediating lifestyle–cancer associations to identify candidate mechanisms of cancer development;
- investigate the link between modifiable risk factors, with a particular emphasis on body fatness, obesity, and metabolic health, and circulating concentrations of cancer-associated biomarkers, specific to different populations, to support local, targeted initiatives aimed at cancer prevention.
This research programme largely relies on the application of cutting-edge laboratory-based technologies to large-scale epidemiological studies, with two different approaches: (i) collaborations with existing cohorts in high-income settings, and (ii) the development of population-based studies to investigate population-specific risk factors, in countries in epidemiological transition (breast cancer case–control studies in Morocco, South Africa, and Latin America; cross-sectional study on obesity and metabolic health in Afghanistan). Crucial support for the activities of HorM is provided by the laboratory facilities that have been specifically tailored to the application of novel molecular technologies to epidemiological studies.
Currently, key activities of HorM focus on measuring hormones, inflammatory factors, fatty acids, and endogenous metabolites (targeted metabolomics), analysed by a variety of assays, such as immunoassays, gas chromatograms (GC), and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS), in samples from large-scale epidemiological studies. Recently, a proteomics platform via multiplexed assays was also integrated (in collaboration with EPR).
Technological development is also a major focus of HorM and is crucial to support evolving research.
Team Composition
Team Leaders: Dr Sabina Rinaldi (Deputy Branch Head) and Dr Laure Dossus, Nutrition and Metabolism Branch (NME), IARC Emails: RinaldiS@iarc.who.int; DossusL@iarc.who.int
Team members:
Dr Agnès Fournier (Visiting Scientist, NME; INSERM CESP)
Dr Mathilde His (Visiting Scientist, NME; INSERM, CLB)
Dr Sabrina Wang (Visiting Scientist, NME; University of Sydney)
Dr Yahya Mahamat-Saleh (Scientist, NME)
Dr Azam Majidi (Postdoctoral Scientist, NME)
Dr Nahid Ahmadi (Postdoctoral Scientist, NME)
Dr Carlota Castro Espin (Postdoctoral Scientist, NME)
Ms Fanélie Vasson (Doctoral Student, NME)
Ms Sofia Boushiq (Doctoral Student, NME)
Ms Carine Biessy (Senior Research Assistant, Data Management/Analysis, NME)
Ms Anne-Sophie Navionis (Research Assistant, NME)
Ms Béatrice Vozar (Senior Research Assistant, Lab Services, NME)
Ms Karine Racinoux (Administrative Assistant, NME)
Key networks: European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) (https://epic.iarc.who.int), Molecular Subtypes of Premenopausal Breast Cancer in Latin American Women (PRECAMA) (https://precama.iarc.who.int), South Africa Breast Cancer (SABC) study (https://sabc.iarc.who.int), Determinants of Breast Cancer in Morocco (EDSMAR) (https://edsmar.iarc.who.int/), Kandahar Obesity Research (KOR)
Key funding: World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), Institut national du Cancer (INCa), Cancer Research UK (CRUK)
Key publications
- Vasson F, Matta K, Biessy C, Antoniussen CS, Fournier A, Marques C, et al. (2025). Lifestyle changes and postmenopausal breast cancer risk in women from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Breast Cancer Res. 27(1):192. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13058-025-02148-w PMID:41163053
- Majidi A, Rinaldi S, Biessy C, Vozar B, Truong T, Turzanski Fortner R, et al. (2025). Thyroid hormones and epithelial ovarian cancer risk and survival: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 117(11):2343–51. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djaf222 PMID:40811636
- Wang SE, Tan VY, Yarmolinsky J, Zheng Y, O’Mara TA, Timpson NJ, et al. (2025). The effect of circulating proteins and their role in mediating adiposity’s effect on endometrial cancer risk: Mendelian randomisation and colocalization analyses. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 34(9):1534–43. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-25-0165 PMID:40553479
- Castro-Espin C, Cairat M, Navionis AS, Dahm CC, Antoniussen CS, Tjønneland A, et al. (2024). Prognostic role of pre-diagnostic circulating inflammatory biomarkers in breast cancer survival: evidence from the EPIC cohort study. Br J Cancer. 131(9):1496–505. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-024-02858-6 PMID:39342063
- Mahamat-Saleh Y, Aune D, Freisling H, Hardikar S, Jaafar R, Rinaldi S, et al. (2024). Association of metabolic obesity phenotypes with risk of overall and site-specific cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Br J Cancer. 131(9):1480–95. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-024-02857-7 PMID:39317703
- Wang SE, Viallon V, Lee M, Dimou N, Hamilton F, Biessy C, et al. (2024). Circulating inflammatory and immune response proteins and endometrial cancer risk: a nested case-control study and Mendelian randomization analyses. EBioMedicine. 108:105341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2024.105341 PMID:39278107
- His M, Fournier A, Truong T, Gelot A, Navionis AS, Biessy C, et al. (2025). Prospective evaluation of circulating plasma thyroid hormones concentrations and breast cancer risk in the EPIC cohort. EBioMedicine. 121:106011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2025.106011 PMID:41187615
- His M, Gunter MJ, Keski-Rahkonen P, Rinaldi S. (2024). Application of metabolomics to epidemiologic studies of breast cancer: new perspectives for etiology and prevention. J Clin Oncol. 42(1):103–15. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.22.02754 PMID:37944067
- Mahamat-Saleh Y, Merdas M, Viallon V, Robinot N, Biessy C, Jacobs I, et al. (2025). Association of serum metabolites and breast cancer risk: a population-based case-control study in black urban South African women. Int J Cancer. 157(8):1543–56. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.35503 PMID:40528579
- Fontvieille E, His M, Biessy C, Navionis AS, Torres-Mejía G, Ángeles-Llerenas A, et al.; PRECAMA team (2022). Inflammatory biomarkers and risk of breast cancer among young women in Latin America: a case-control study. BMC Cancer. 22(1):877. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-022-09975-6 PMID:35948877