Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty Member

Loraine D. Marrett Ph.D.

Research Interests

• Cancer epidemiology
• Cancer and risk factor surveillance
• Cancer in Canadian Aboriginals
• Skin cancer and ultraviolet radiation
• Record linkage studies

Education & Training History

1973 University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, Ph.D. (in Mathematical statistics)

1969 University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, B.Math. (honours, with statistics major)

Other Affiliations

Member, Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Member, Canadian Association of Public Health

Co-Chair, Ontario Sun Safety Working Group

Primary Teaching Responsibilities

Teaching Activities, University of Toronto, Dalla Lana School of Public Health:

Administrative Responsibilities/Committee Work:

Admissions Committee, Ph.D. and MPH Programs in Epidemiology

Graduate courses taught:

Class on “Overview of Cancer Patterns and Trends” in Community Health Needs Assessment” and “Health Trends and Surveillance Course” (CHL 5405H/5405)

Class on “Melanoma and Other Skin Cancers” in “Cancer Epidemiology” (CHL 5409S, 5409H)

Professional Summary & Appointments

Current Appointments:

2004 – Senior Scientist, Prevention and Cancer Control, Cancer Care Ontario, Toronto, Ontario

2004 – Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences (now the Dalla Lana School of Public Health), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

Previous Appointments:

2012 – 2013 Director, Prevention and Surveillance, Prevention and Cancer Control, Cancer Care Ontario, Toronto, Ontario

2004 – 2012 Director, Surveillance Unit, Prevention and Cancer Control, Cancer Care Ontario, Toronto, Ontario

2009 – 2010 Associate Director, Occupational Cancer Research Centre, Cancer Care Ontario, Toronto, Ontario

Honours & Awards

2007 – Canadian Dermatology Association (CDA) Award of Honour (for a non-physician who has made an outstanding contribution to dermatology)

2013 – Canadian Society for Epidemiology & Biostatistics Distinguished Service Award)

Current Research Projects

Cancer incidence and survival in First Nations and Métis adults in Canada; follow-up of the 1991 census cohort

Cancer surveillance in Ontario registered First Nations: incidence, prevalence and survival 1991-

Cancer risk factors and screening in Ontario First Nations and Métis, 2007-

Sun protection messages: Recommendations and supporting evidence, building towards a new national consensus

Genes, Environment and Melanoma (an international research collaboration)

Representative Publications

• Recent Peer-Reviewed Publications:* First author is a student whose work was conducted under my direct supervisionDavid C. Gibbs, Irene Orlow, Jennifer I. Bramson, Peter A. Kanetsky, Li Luo, Anne Kricker, Bruce K. Armstrong, Hoda Anton-Culver, Stephen B. Gruber, Loraine D. Marrett, Richard P. Gallagher, Roberto Zanetti, Stefano Rosso, Terence Dwyer, Ajay Sharma, Emily La Pilla, Lynn From, Klaus J. Busam, Anne E. Cust, David W. Ollila, Colin B. Begg, Marianne Berwick, Nancy E. Thomas, on behalf of the GEM Study Group. Pivotal role of IRF4 rs12203592 in divergent melanoma causal pathways. Submitted (June 2015)

  Gibbs DC, Orlow I, Kanetsky PA, Luo L, Kricker A, Armstrong BK, Anton-Culver H, Gruber SB, Marrett LD et al. Inherited genetic variants associated with occurrence of multiple primary melanoma. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2015 Apr 2. [Epub ahead of print]

  Spayne M, Rabeneck L, Marrett L, Peter A. Primary prevention – Recent developments in policy and support. Healthcare Quarterly 2015; 17(SP): 10-15.

  Kewayosh A, Marrett L, Aslam U, Steiner R, Lum-Kwong MM, Imre J, Amartey A. Improving health equity for First Nations, Inuit and Metis people: Ontario’s Aboriginal Cancer Strategy II. Healthcare Quarterly 2015; 17(SP): 33-40.

  Navaranjan G, Kone A, Berriault C, Do M, Villeneuve P, Marrett L, Demers P. An update of mortality and cancer incidence among Ontario uranium miners exposed to radon progeny. Occup Environ Med. 2014 Jun;71 Suppl 1:A112-3. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2014-102362.354

  *Young SW, Nishri ED, Candido E, Marrett LD. A neighbourhood-level analysis of colorectal cancer incidence in Ontario’s Aboriginal population, 1998-2009. Health Rep 2015;26: 3-9

   Pearce N, Blair A, Vineis P [and many other authors, including Marrett L]. IARC Monographs: 40 Years of Evaluating Carcinogenic Hazards to Humans. Environ Health Perspect. 2015 Feb 24. [Epub ahead of print]

  Thomas NE, Kricker A, Waxweiler WT, Dillon PM, Busam KJ, From L, Groben PA, Armstrong BK, Anton-Culver H, Gruber SB, Marrett LD, Gallagher RP, Zanetti R, Rosso S, Dwyer T, Venn A, Kanetsky PA, Orlow I, Paine S, Ollila DW, Reiner AS, Luo L, Hao H, Frank JS, Begg CB, Berwick M, for the GEM Study Group. Comparison of Clinicopathologic Features and Survival of Histopathologically Amelanotic and Pigmented Melanomas: A Population-Based Study. JAMA Dermatol 2014; 150:1306-14.

  *Withrow D, Amartey A, Marrett LD. Cancer risk factors and screening in the off-reserve First Nations, Metis and Non-Aboriginal populations of Ontario of Canada. Chronic Dis Inj Can 2014; 34:103-12.

  Nishri ED, Sheppard AJ, Withrow DR, Marrett LD. Cancer survival among First Nations people of Ontario, Canada (1968-2007). Int J Cancer 2015; 136:639-45.

  Berwick M, Reiner AS, Paine S, Armstrong BK, Kricker A, Goumas C, Thomas NE, Groben PA, From L, Busam K, Orlow I, Marrett LM, et al, for the GEM Study Group. Sun Exposure and Melanoma Survival: A GEM Study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2014; 23:2145-52.

  *Prummel MV, Young SJ, Candido E, Nishri D, Elit L, Marrett LD. Cervical Cancer Incidence in Ontario Women: Differing Sociodemographic Gradients by Morphologic Type (Adenocarcinoma vs. Squamous Cell). Int J Gynecol Cancer 2014; 24:1341-6.

  Rabeneck L, Tinmouth J, Marrett LD, Lawrence P, Baxter N, Ruco A, Lewis N, Gao J, Wang Li. Ontario’s ColonCancerCheck: Results from Canada’s first province-wide colorectal cancer screening program. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2014; 23:508-15.

  Berwick M, MacArthur J, Orlow I, Kanetsky P, Begg, Luo L, Reniner A, Sharma A, Armstrong B, Kricker A, Cust A, Marrett LD, Gruber S, Anton-Culver H, Zanetti R, Rosso S, Gallagher R, Dwyer T, Venn A, Busam K, White K, Thomas N; the GEM Study Group. MITF E318K’s effect on melanoma risk independent of, but modified by, other risk factors. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res 2014; 27:485-8.

  De P, Otterstatter MC, Semenciw R, Ellison LF, Marrett LD, Dryer D. Trends in incidence, mortality and survival for kidney cancer in Canada, 1986-2007. Cancer Causes Control 2014; 25:1271-1281. doi:10.1007/s10552-014-0427-x

  Orlow I, Reiner AS, Roy P, Thomas NE, Roy P, Kanetsky PA, Luo L, Paine S, Armstrong BK, Kricker A, Marrett LD, Rosso S, Zanetti R, Gruber SB, Anton-Culver H, Gallagher RP, Dwyer T, Busam K, Begg CB and Berwick M for the GEM Study Group. Vitamin D receptor polymorphisms and survival in patients with cutaneous melanoma: A population-based study. Submitted Carcinogenesis (2015)

  Kricker A, Armstrong BK, Goumas C, Thomas NE, From L, Busam K, Kanetsky PA, Gallagher RP, Marrett LD, Millikan RC, Groben PA, Gruber SB, Anton-Culver H, Rosso S, Dwyer T and Berwick M for GEM Study Group. Survival for patients with single and multiple primary melanomas in the GEM study. JAMA Dermatol 2013; 149: 921-7.

  Otterstatter MC, Brierley JD, De P, Ellison LF, MacIntyre M, Marrett LD, Semenciw R, Weir HK for the Canadian Cancer Statistics Steering Committee. Esophageal cancer in Canada: trends by morphology and anatomical location. Can J Gastroenterol 2012; 26:723-7.

  Elit L, Saskin R, Raut R, Elliott L, Murphy J, Marrett L. Sociodemographic factors associated with cervical cancer screening coverage and follow-up of high grade abnormal results in a population-based cohort. Gynecol Oncol 2012; 128:95-100.

  Mukherjee B, Delancey JO, Raskin L, Everett J, Jeter J, Begg CB, Orlow I, Berwick M, Armstrong BK, Kricker A, Marrett LD, Millikan RC, Culver HA, Rosso S, Zanetti R, Kanetsky PA, From L, Gruber SB; GEM Study Investigators. Risk of non-melanoma cancers in first-degree relatives of CDKN2A mutation carriers. J Natl Cancer Inst 2012; 104:953-6

  Berwick M, Begg CB, Armstrong BK, Reiner AS, Thomas NE, Cook LS, Orlow I, Kricker A, Marrett LD, Gruber SB, Anton-Culver H, Millikan RC, Gallagher RP, Dwyer T, Kanetsky PA, Lee-Taylor J for the GEM Study Group. Interaction of CDKN2A and sun exposure in the etiology of melanoma in the general population. J Invest Dermatol 2011; 131:2500-3.

  *Sheppard A, Chiarelli A, Marrett L, Nishri D, Trudeau M. Stage at diagnosis and comorbidity influence breast cancer survival in First Nations women in Ontario, Canada. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2011; 20:2160-7.

  Mandelcorn-Monson R, Marrett L, Kricker A, Armstrong BK, Orlow I, Goumas C, Paine S, Rosso S, Thomas N, Millikan RC, Pole JD, Cotignola J, Rosen C, Kanetsky PA, Lee-Taylor J, Begg CB, Berwick M. Sun exposure, vitamin D receptor polymorphisms FokI and BsmI and risk of multiple primary melanoma. Cancer Epidemiol 2011 December ; 35(6): e105–10. doi:10.1016/j.canep.2011.03.003.s

  Orlow I, Roy P, Reiner A, Yoo S, Patel H, Paine S, Armstrong B, Kricker A, Marrett LD, Millikan R, Thomas N, Gruber S, Anton-Culver H, Rosso S, Gallagher R for the GEM Study Group. Vitamin D receptor polymorphisms in patients with cutaneous melanoma. Int J Cancer 2012;130:405-18.

  Weir HK, Marrett LD, Cokkinides V, Barnholtz-Sloan J, Patel P, Tai E, Jemal A, Li J, Kim J, Ekwueme DU. Melanoma in adolescents and young adults (ages 15-39 years): United States 1999-2006. J Am Acad Dermatol 2011; 65(5 Suppl 1):S38-49.

  Hohenadel K, Pichora E, Marrett LD, Bukvic D, Brown J, Harris S, Demers PA, Blair AE. Priority issues in occupational cancer research: Ontario stakeholder perspectives. Chronic Dis Inj Can 2011; 31:147-51.

  *Sheppard AJ, Chiarelli AM, Stewart L, Marrett LD, Lidstone-Jones C, Chua-Alamag, R, Hey, A, Madarnas, Y, Nishri, D, Trudeau M, Warner, D. Aboriginal Breast Cancer Care Workshop Report: Strategies to improve First Nations cancer care in Ontario. Circumpolar Health Supplement 2010; 7:168-173.

  Blair A, Marrett L, Beane Freeman L. Occupational cancer in developed countries. Environ Health 2010;10(Suppl 1):S9,1-3.

  Coleman MP, Forman D, Bryant H, Butler J, Rachet B, Maringe C, Nur U, Tracey E, Coory M, Hatcher J, McGahan CE, Turner D, Marrett L, Gjerstorff ML, Johannesen TB, Adolfsson J, Lambe M, Lawrence G, Meechan D, Morris EJ, Middleton R, Steward J, Richards MA; ICBP Module 1 Working Group. Cancer survival in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK, 1995-2007: the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership. Lancet Oncology 2011;377:127-38.

  De P, Ellison LF, Barr RD, Semenciw R, Marrett LD, Weir HK Dryer D, Grunfeld E for the Steering Committee for Canadian Cancer Statistics. Canadian adolescents and young adults with cancer: opportunity to improve coordination and level of care. CMAJ 2011;183:E187-94.

  Kricker A, Armstrong BK, Goumas C, Kanetsky P, Gallagher RP, Begg CB, Millikan RC, Dwyer T, Rosso S, Marrett LD, Thomas NE, Berwick M; Genes, Environment and Melanoma Study Group. MCIR genotype may modify the effect of sun exposure on melanoma risk in the GEM Study. Cancer Causes Control 2010;21:2137-47.

  Thomas NE, Kricker A, From L, Busam K, Millikan RC, Ritchey ME, Armstrong BK, Lee-Taylor J, Marrett LD, Anton-Culver H, Zanetti R, Rosso S, Gallagher RP, Dwyer T, Goumas C, Kanetsky PA, Begg CB, Orlow I, Wilcox H, Paine S, Berwick M; Genes, Environment, and Melanoma Study Group. Associations of cumulative sun exposure and phenotypic characteristics with histologic solar elastosis. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2010;19:2932-41.

  Fioletov VE, McArthur LJB, Mathews TW, Marrett L. Estimated Ultraviolet exposure levels for a sufficient vitamin D status in North America. J Photochem Photobiol B 2010;100:57-66.

  Marrett LD, Northrup DA, Pichora EC, Spinks MT, Rosen CF. The Second National Sun Survey (NSS2): Overview and methods. Can J Public Health 2010;101:I10-I13.

  Pichora EC, Marrett LD. Sun behaviour in Canadian children: Results of the 2006 National Sun Survey. Can J Public Health 2010;101:I14-I18.

  Marrett LD, Pichora EC, Costa ML. Work-time sun behaviours among Canadian outdoor workers: Results from the 2006 National Sun Survey. Can J Public Health 2010;101:I19-I22.

  *Sheppard AJ, Chiarelli AM, Marrett LD, Mirea L, Nishri ED, Trudeau ME and the Aboriginal Breast Cancer Study Group. Detection of later stage breast cancer in First Nations women in Ontario, Canada. Can J Public Health 2010; 101:101-5.

  Fioletov VE, McArthur LJB, Mathews TW, Marrett L. On the relationship between erythemal and vitamin D action spectrum weighted ultraviolet radiation. J Photochem Photobiol, B