Articles about the Jersey Girls Study in The Star-Ledger and The Bergen Record generated a flurry of phone calls from parents interested in enrolling their daughters—and for good reason. The study will examine the causes of early puberty, identified by scientists as a risk factor for breast cancer. Girls who have their first period before age 11 have three times the risk of developing the disease.
Through investigation of participants’ environmental exposure, diet, physical activity and body measurements, the study will evaluate how environmental, hormonal and nutritional factors influence early puberty. Have the girls been exposed to chemicals which may contribute to their early puberty? Does breastfeeding have an effect on the timing of puberty? The investigators aim to answer these and other questions. “Understanding the causes of early puberty is crucial to improving health and reducing the long-term risk for breast cancer,” says epidemiologist Elisa Bandera, principal investigator. The study is a joint venture with the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI), RWJMS, SPH and the New Jersey Family Medicine Research Network.
The study of cancer, its causes and new therapies is a primary focus of many University investigators and clinicians. On the research front, CINJ scientists recently presented findings from a study at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Their promising work on the effects of selenium in combination with standard ovarian cancer treatments may lead to more targeted therapy. On the clinical front, doctors at University Hospital are increasing the life expectancy for some patients with abdominal cancers through the use of surgery followed by intraoperative regional heated chemotherapy. Faculty at RWJMS are applying a breakthrough treatment for liver tumors that uses microscopic radioactive spheres to deliver radiation via the blood vessels supplying the tumor.
As an academic health center, UMDNJ is taking the lead in prolonging and improving the lives of patients.