Olufunmilayo Olopade, M.D.

Molecular Genetics of Breast Cancer, Tumor Suppressor Genes, Mechanisms of Oncogene Amplification

Research Summary

Dr. Olopade's laboratory has sought to identify and characterize genes relevant to tumor progression, determine their role in inherited susceptibility, and perform genetic epidemiologic analyses translatable to clinical practice. The laboratory is also focused on understanding epigenetic mechanisms underlying abnormal gene expression including aberrant CpG-island-promoter methylation of specific tumor suppressor genes, global changes in genomic DNA methylation, and alterations in histone modification (deacetylation and methylation). Our primary tumor model is breast cancer.

Selected Papers

Metcalfe KA, Lynch HT, Ghadirian P, Tung N, Olivotto IA, Foulkes WD, Warner E, Olopade O, Weber EAB, McLennan J, Sun P.  The risk of ovarian cancer after breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA 2 carriers.  Gynecol Oncol.  96:222-226, 2005.

Lynch HT, Watson P, Tarantolo S, Wiernik PH, Quinn-Laquer B, Isgur Bergsagel K, Huiart L, Olopade OI, Sobol H, Sanger W, Hogg D, Weisenburger D.  Phenotypic heterogeneity in multiple myeloma families.  J Clin Oncol.  23:685-93, 2005. 

Fackenthal JD, Sveen L, Gao Q, Kohlmeir EK, Adebamowo C, Ogundiran TO, Adenipekun AA, Oyesegun R, Campbell O, Rotimi C, Akang EE, Das S, Olopade OI.  Complete allelic analysis of BRCA1 and BRCA2 variants in young Nigerian breast cancer patients complete allelic analysis of BRCA1 and BRCA2 variants in young Nigerian breast cancer patients.  J Med Genet.  42:276-81, 2005.

Weitzel JN, Robson M, Pasini B, Manoukian S, Stoppa-Lyonnet D, Lynch hT, McLennan J, Foulkes WD, Wagner T, Tung N, Ghadirian P, Olopade O, Isaacs C, Kim-Sing C, Moller P, Neuhausen SL, Metcalfe K, Sun P, Narod SA.  A comparison of bilateral breast cancers in BRCA carriers.  Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 14:1534-8, 2005.

Cullinane CA, Lubinski J, Neuhausen SL, Ghadirian P, Lynch HT, Isaacs C, Weber B, Moller P, Offit K, Kim-Sing C, Friedman E, Randall S, Pasini B, Ainsworth P, Gershoni-Baruch R, Foulkes WD, Klijn J, Tung N, Rennert G, Olopade O, Couch F, Wagner T, Olsson H, Sun P, Weitzel JN, Narod SA.  Effect of pregnancy as a risk factor for breast cancer in BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carriers.  Int J Cancer.  117:988-91, 2005.

Li H, Giger ML, Olopade OI, Margolis A, Lan L, Chinander MR.  Computerized texture analysis of mamographic parenchymal patterns of digitized mammograms.  Acad Radiol. 12:863-73, 2005.

Kotsopoulos J, Lubinski J, Lynch HT, Neuhausen SL, Ghadirian P, Isaacs C, Weber B, Kim-Sing C, Foulkes WD, Gershoni-Baruch R, Ainsworth P, Friedman E, Daly M, Garber JE, Karlan B, Olopade OI, Tung N, Saal HM, Eisen A, Osborne M, Olsson H, Gilchrist D, Sun P, Narod SA.  Age at menarche and the risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.  Cancer Causes Control. 16:667-74, 2005.

Riddenstrale KK, Grushko ta, Kim H-J, Olopade OI. Single day FISH procedure for paraffin-embedded tissue sections using a mircrowave oven. Bio Tecniques 39:316-320, 2005.

Rebbeck TR, Friebel T, Wagner T, Lynch HT, Garber JE, Daly MB, Isaacs C, Olopade OI, Neuhausen SL, van 't Veer L, Eeles R, Evans DG, Tomlinson G, Matloff E, Narod SA, Eisen A, Domchek S, Armstrong K, Weber BL; PROSE Study Group.  Effect of short-term hormone replacement therapy on breast cancer risk reduction after bilateral prophylactic oophorectomy in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers: the PROSE Study Group.  J Clin Oncol.  23:7804-10, 2005.

Nanda R, Schumm, LP, Cummings S, Ademuyiwa F, Cobleigh M, Esserman L, Lindor NM, Neuhausen SL, and Olopade OI, Genetic Testing in an Ethnically Diverse Cohort of High-Risk Women: A comparative Analysis of BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations in American Families of European and African Ancestry.  JAMA 294:1925-33, 2005.

Wei M, Grushko TA, Dignam J, Hagos F, Nanda R, Sveen L, Xu J, Fackenthal J, Tretiakova M, Das S, Olopade OI, BRCA1 Promoter Methylation in Sporadic Breast Cancer is Associated with Reduced BRCA1 Copy Number and Chromosome 17 Aneusomy.  Cancer Research 65:10692-9, 2005.

Gronwald J, Tung N, Foulkes WD, Offit K, Gershoni R, Daly M, Kim-Sing C, Olsson H, Ainsworth P, Eisen A, Saal H, Friedman E, Olopade O, Osborne M, Weitzel J, Lynch H, Ghadirian P, Lubinski J, Sun P, Narod SA, TamoxifEn and contralateral breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers: An update. Int J Cancer. 118:2281-84, 2005.

Medved M, Newstead GM, Abe H, Zamora MA, Olopade OI, Karczmar GS.High spectral and spatial resolution MRI of breast lesions: preliminary clinical experience. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 186:30-7, 2006.

Livasy CA, Karaca G, Nanda R, Tretiakova MS, Olopade OI, Moore DT, Perou CM. Phenotypic evaluation of the basal-like subtype of invasive breast carcinoma. Mod Pathol 19:264-71, 2006.

Hu Z, Fan C, Oh DS, Marron JS, He X, Qaqish BF, Livasy C, Carey LA, Reynolds E, Dressler L, Nobel A, Parker J, Ewend MG, Saywer LR, Wu J, Liu Y, Nanda R, Tretiakova M, Ruiz Orrico A, Dreher D, Palazzo JP, Perreard L, Nelson E, Mone M, Hansen H, Mullins M, Quackenbush JF, Ellis MJ, Olopade OI, Bernard PS Perou CM. The molecular portraits of breast tumors are conserved across microarray platforms. BMC Genomics. 2006 Apr 27;7:96.

Chen Y, Borowicz S, Fackenthal J, Collart FR, Myatt E, Moy S, Babnigg G, Wilton R, Boernke WE, Schiffer M, Stevens FJ, Olopade OI. Primary structure-based function characterization of BRCT domain replicates in BRCA1. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2006 Jun 23;345(1):188-96. Epub 2006 Apr 21.

Olopade OI, Schwartsmann G, Saijo N, Thomas CR Jr. Disparities in cancer care: a worldwide perspective and roadmap for change. J Clin Oncol.  2006 May 10;24(14):2135-6.

Hong AL, Huo D, Kim HJ, Niu Q, Frankenthal DL, Cummings SA, John EM, West DW, Whittemore AS, Das S, Olopade OI. UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 gene polymorphisms and total bilirubin levels in an ethnically diverse cohort of women. Drug Metab Dispos. 2007; 35(8):1254-61]

Herschkowitz JI, Simin K, Weigman VJ, et al.. Identification of conserved gene expression features between murine mammary carcinoma models and human breast tumors. Genome Biol. 2007 May 10;8(5):R76 [Epub ahead of print].

Couch FJ, Sinilnikova O, Vierkant RA, et al. Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2. AURKA F31I polymorphism and breast cancer risk in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers: a consortium of investigators of modifiers of BRCA1/2 study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev;16:1416-21, 2007.

Bell DW, Kim SH, Godwin AK, Schiripo TA, Harris PL, Haserlat SM, Wahrer DC, Haiman CA, Daly MB, Niendorf KB, Smith MR, Sgroi DC, Garber JE, Olopade OI, Le Marchand L, Henderson BE, Altshuler D, Haber DA, Freedman ML. Genetic and functional analysis of CHEK2 (CHK2) variants in multiethnic cohorts. Int J Cancer;121:2661-7, 2007.

Huo D, Kim HJ, Adebamowo CA, Ogundiran TO, Akang EE, Campbell O, Adenipekun A, Niu Q, Sveen L, Fackenthal JD, Fackenthal DL, Das S, Cox N, Rienzo AD, Olopade OI. Genetic polymorphisms in uridine diphospho-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 and breast cancer risk in Africans. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2007 Oct 2.

Wei M, Xu J, Dignam J, Nanda R, Sveen L, Fackenthal J, Grushko TA, Olopade OI. Estrogen receptor alpha, BRCA1, and FANCF promoter methylation occur in distinct subsets of sporadic breast cancers. Breast Cancer Res Treat. Oct 12 2007.

Gao B, Xie XJ, Huang C, Shames DS, Chen TT, Lewis CM, Bian A, Zhang B, Olopade OI, Garber JE, Euhus DM, Tomlinson GE, Minna JD. RASSF1A polymorphism A133S is associated with early onset breast cancer in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. Cancer Res. 68:22-5, 2008.

Garner CP, Ding YC, John EM, Ingles SA, Olopade OI, Huo D, Adebamowo C, Ogundiran T, Neuhausen SL. Genetic variation in IGFBP2 and IGFBP5 is associated with breast cancer in populations of African descent. Hum Genet. 2008 Apr;123(3):247-55.

Huo D, Adebamowo CA, Ogundiran TO, Akang EF, Campbell O, Adenipekun A, Cummings S, Fackenthal J, Ademuyiwa F, Cook, M Ahsan H, Olopade OI. Parity and breastfeeding are protective against breast cancer in Nigerian women. Br J Cancer. 2008 Mar 11;98(5):992-6.

Olopade OI, Grushko TA, Nanda R, Huo D. Advances in breast cancer: pathways to personalized medicine. Clin Cancer Res. 2008 Dec 15;14(24):7988-99.

Chen Y, Olopade OI. MYC in breast tumor progression. Expert Rev Anticancer Ther. 2008 Oct;8(10):1689-98.

Zhang B, Fackenthal JD, Niu Q, Huo D, Sveen WE, DeMarco T, Adebamowo CA, Ogundiran T, Olopade OI. Evidence for an ancient BRCA1 mutation in breast cancer patients of Yoruban ancestry. Fam Cancer. 2009;8(1):15-22.