Professor, Department of Medicine & Oncology, McGill University
Director, Cancer Prevention Centre, SMBD-Jewish General Hospital
Alexander Goldfarb Research Chair in Medical Oncology

Address
Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research
SMBD-Jewish General Hospital
3755 Côte Ste-Catherine Road
Montreal, Quebec H3T 1E2

Tel.: 514-340-8222 ext. 4139
Fax: 514-340-8302
Email
Dr. Pollak's Website
McGill Cancer Prevention Program

Expertise: Non-Cytotoxic Approaches To Cancer Therapy And Prevention

Summary of Research Activities
We have several ongoing projects to develop novel cancer therapies and cancer prevention strategies. Our research program includes basic work in cellular molecular biology, translational research, and clinical studies. Our basic studies concern the roles of peptide growth factors, particularly insulin-like growth factors, in the pathophysiology of neoplasia. We have demonstrated that many cancers are dependent on IGF stimulation, and shown that novel compounds that target IGF bioactivity deserve evaluation as cancer therapies. Our studies provide evidence that IGF signaling plays roles in clinically important challenges including development of resistance to Herceptin in breast cancer, and progression of prostate cancer to androgen-independence. We also have identified IGF physiology as an area that may lead to novel prevention strategies, both for the general population and for individuals at increased genetic risk for cancer. In collaboration with colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health, we have shown that high circulating levels of IGF-I represent an important risk factor for several common cancers. We now are studying the mechanisms underlying the relationship between IGF-I levels and risk of neoplasia.

Recent Publications
Singh RP, Deep G, Blouin MJ, Pollak MN, Agarwal R. Silibinin suppresses in vivo growth of human prostate carcinoma PC-3 tumor xenograft. Carcinogenesis. 2007 Oct 4; [Epub ahead of print]

Levitt RJ, Zhao Y, Blouin MJ, Pollak M. The hedgehog pathway inhibitor cyclopamine increases levels of p27, and decreases both expression of IGF-II and activation of Akt in PC-3 prostate cancer cells. Cancer Lett. 2007 Oct 8;255(2):300-6. Epub 2007 Jun 28.

Brisson J, Berube S, Diorio C, Sinotte M, Pollak M, Masse B Synchronized seasonal variations of mammographic breast density and plasma 25- hydroxyvitamin d. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007 May;16(5): 929-33.

Schaffer A, Koushik A, Trottier H, Duarte-Franco E, Mansour N, Arseneau J, Provencher D, Gilbert L, Gotlieb W, Ferenczy A, Coutlee F, Pollak MN, Franco EL; Biomarkers of Cervical Cancer Risk Study Team. Insulin-like growth factor-I and risk of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007 Apr;16(4):716-22.

Pollak M. Insulin-like growth factor-related signaling and cancer development. Recent Results Cancer Res. 2007;174:49-53.

Tamimi RM, Cox DG, Kraft P, Pollak MN, Haiman CA, Cheng I, Freedman ML, Hankinson SE, Hunter DJ, Colditz GA. Common genetic variation in IGF1, IGFBP-1, and IGFBP-3 in relation to mammographic density: a cross-sectional study. Breast Cancer Res. 2007;9(1):R18.

Eliassen AH, Tworoger SS, Mantzoros CS, Pollak MN, Hankinson SE. Circulating insulin and c-peptide levels and risk of breast cancer among predominately premenopausal women. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007 Jan;16(1):161-4.

Okereke O, Kang JH, Ma J, Hankinson SE, Pollak MN, Grodstein F. Plasma IGF-I levels and cognitive performance in older women. Neurobiol Aging. 2007 Jan;28(1):135-42. Epub 2005 Dec 7.

Tran CD, Diorio C, Berube S, Pollak M, Brisson J. Relation of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) I and IGF-binding protein 3 concentrations with intakes of fruit, vegetables, and antioxidants. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Dec;84(6):1518-26.

Zakikhani M, Dowling R, Fantus IG, Sonenberg N, Pollak M. Metformin is an AMP kinase-dependent growth inhibitor for breast cancer cells. Cancer Res. 2006 Nov 1;66(21):10269-73. Epub 2006 Oct 23.

Ahn J, Weinstein SJ, Snyder K, Pollak MN, Virtamo J, Albanes D. No association between serum insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, IGF-binding protein-3, and lung cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2006 Oct;15(10):2010-2.

Gong Z, Neuhouser ML, Goodman PJ, Albanes D, Chi C, Hsing AW, Lippman SM, Platz EA, Pollak MN, Thompson IM, Kristal AR. Obesity, diabetes, and risk of prostate cancer: results from the prostate cancer prevention trial. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2006 Oct;15(10):1977-83.

Tseng PH, Wang YC, Weng SC, Weng JR, Chen CS, Brueggemeier RW, Shapiro CL, Chen CY, Dunn SE, Pollak M, Chen CS. Overcoming trastuzumab resistance in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells by using a novel celecoxib-derived phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 inhibitor. Mol Pharmacol. 2006 Nov;70(5):1534-41. Epub 2006 Aug 3

Schernhammer ES, Holly JM, Hunter DJ, Pollak MN, Hankinson SE. Insulin- like growth factor-I, its binding proteins (IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-3), and growth hormone and breast cancer risk in The Nurses Health Study II. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2006 Jun;13(2):583-92.

Missmer SA, Spiegelman D, Bertone-Johnson ER, Barbieri RL, Pollak MN, Hankinson SE. Reproducibility of plasma steroid hormones, prolactin, and insulin-like growth factor levels among premenopausal women over a 2- to 3-year period. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2006 May;15(5):972-8.

Wei EK, Ma J, Pollak MN, Rifai N, Fuchs CS, Hankinson SE, Giovannucci E. C-peptide, insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1, glycosylated hemoglobin, and the risk of distal colorectal adenoma in women. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2006 Apr;15(4):750-5.

Harris TG, Strickler HD, Yu H, Pollak MN, Monrad ES, Travin MI, Xue X, Rohan TE, Kaplan RC. Specimen processing time and measurement of total insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), free IGF-I, and IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3). Growth Horm IGF Res. 2006 Apr;16(2):86-92. Epub 2006 Mar 10.

Diorio C, Berube S, Byrne C, Masse B, Hebert-Croteau N, Yaffe M, Cote G, Pollak M, Brisson J. Influence of insulin-like growth factors on the strength of the relation of vitamin D and calcium intakes to mammographic breast density. Cancer Res. 2006 Jan 1;66(1):588-97.

Gotlieb WH, Bruchim I, Gu J, Shi Y, Camirand A, Blouin MJ, Zhao Y, Pollak MN. Insulin-like growth factor receptor I targeting in epithelial ovarian cancer. Gynecol Oncol. 2006 Feb;100(2):389-96. Epub 2005 Nov 21.

Rousseau MC, Parent ME, Pollak MN, Siemiatycki J. Diabetes mellitus and cancer risk in a population-based case-control study among men from Montreal, Canada. Int J Cancer. 2006 Apr 15;118(8):2105-9.