PRBB Updates and Publications

Updates

Scientific Presentations:

Look for us in February 2026, at the Advancing Cancer Research of Latinos and All Populations Conference in San Antonia, TX,

Annelise Glode, MCC PRBB Coordinator, presented a short talk and a poster (pictured) on Dec 5, 2025, at Moffitt’s Annual Cancer Health Disparity Retreat, in Tampa, Florida.

Doug Cress, PRBB Co-leader, presented a talk on the PRBB on September 19, 2025, at the 18^th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities, in Baltimore Maryland (pictured on the left with the other speakers).

PRBB Outreach Activities:

Abigail Lantz, PRBB intern (pictured left) and other members of the PRBB team participated in the Latinos y EL Cáncer on March 1, 2025, in Tampa, Florida.

Publications

2025

MS. Patel, M. Almubarak, J. Matta, C. Ortiz-Sanchez^†, J. Encarnacion, G. Ruiz-Deya, J. Dutil^*, J. Dhillon, K. Yamoah, A. Berglund, H. Park, D. Kilari, Y. Balagurunathan, L. Wang, JY. Park. 5hmC-profiles in Puerto Rican Hispanic/Latino men with aggressive prostate cancer. Frontiers in Oncology: 2025 Jan;15:1541878. PMID: 40265030, PMC12011585.

J. Matta, C. Ortiz-Sánchez^†, J. Encarnación-Medina, S. Torres-Caraballo, J. Oliveras, J. Park, MM. Arroyo, G. Ruiz-Deya. DNA Repair Capacity and Clinicopathological Characteristics in Puerto Rican Hispanic/Latino Patients with Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer. Cancers: 2025 Jan;17(2):279. PMID: 39858060, PMC11763443.

KD. García-Irizarry, ME. Rojas-Brenes, JA. Oliveras-Torres, CN. Ortiz-Ortiz, WD. Cress, E. Gordián, RG. Martínez, FJ. Quintana-González, PF. Escobar-Rodríguez, T. Muñoz-Antonia, I. Flores. Profiling Sociodemographic Risk Factors and Clinical Outcomes of Women with Endometrial Cancer in Puerto Rico: The Central Role of Obesity and Obstetric Features. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: 2025 Jan;NA:doi: 10.1007/s40615-024-02267-8. PMID: 39833653. PMC12795853.

M. Matejcic, JK. Teer, HJ. Hoehn, DB. Diaz, K. Shankar, J. Gong, NT. Nguyen, NC. Loroña, D. Coppola, CG. Fulmer, O. Saglam, K. Jiang, WD. Cress, T. Muñoz-Antonia, I. Flores, ER. Gordián, JAO. Torres, SI. Felder, J. Sanchez^*, JB. Fleming, EM. Siegel, JA. Freedman, J. Dutil^*, MC. Stern, BL. Fridley, JC. Figueiredo, SL. Schmit^*. Colorectal Tumors in Diverse Patient Populations Feature a Spectrum of Somatic Mutational Profiles. Cancer Research: 2025 Mar;85(10):1928-1944. PMID: 40126181, PMC12234169.

AE. Lantz, ER. Gordián, M. Rosa^*, MR. Ruíz, JO. Johnson, R. Gebert, A. Bahr, DT. Chen, J. Dutil^*, J. Li, JAO. Torres^†, HI. Saavedra, SA. Eschrich, I. Flores, WD. Cress. Creation and characterization of a breast cancer tissue microarray including Black and White patients from Florida and Hispanic patients from Puerto Rico and Florida. Cancer Research Communications: 2025 May;5(5):804-813. PMID: 40309949, PMC12082392.

2024

M. Matejcic, JK. Teer, HJ. Hoehn, DB. Diaz, K. Shankar, J. Gong, NT. Nguyen, N. Lorona, D. Coppola, C. Fulmer, O. Saglam, K. Jiang, D. Cress, T. Muñoz-Antonia, I. Flores, E. Gordian, JAO. Torres, SI. Felder, JA. Sanchez^*, J. Fleming, EM. Siegel, JA. Freedman, J. Dutil^*, MC. Stern, BL. Fridley, JC. Figueiredo, SL. Schmit^*. Spectrum of somatic mutational features of colorectal tumors in ancestrally diverse populations. medRxiv: The Preprint Server for Health Sciences: 2024 Mar; NA:2024.03.11.24303880. PMID: 38558992, PMC10980113.

MS. Patel, M. Almubarak, J. Matta, C. Ortiz-Sanchez^†, J. Encarnacion, G. Ruiz-Deya, J. Dutil^*, J. Dhillon, K. Yamoah, A. Berglund, H. Park, D. Kilari, Y. Balagurunathan, L. Wang, JY. Park. 5hmC-profiles in Puerto Rican Hispanic/Latino men with aggressive prostate cancer. medRxiv: The Preprint Server for Health Sciences: 2024 Oct;NA:2024.10.26.24315621. PMID: 39502659, PMC11537326.

AE. Lantz, R. Gebert, J. Li, JA. Oliveras, ER. Gordián, J. Perez-Morales, S. Eschrich, D. Chen, M. Rosa^*, J. Dutil^*, HI. Saavedra, T. Muñoz-Antonia, I. Flores, WD. Cress. Worse Clinical and Survival Outcomes in Breast Cancer Patients Living in Puerto Rico Compared to Hispanics, Non-Hispanic Blacks, and Non-Hispanic Whites from Florida. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: 2024 Nov;NA(doi: 10.1007/s40615-024-02232-5). PMID: 39543072, PMC12281488.

M. Khadka, JCA. Lacson, SK. Sutton, Y. Kim, ST. Vadaparampil, B. Soto-Torres^*, JL. Hay, PA. Kanetsky. Changes in Skin Cancer-Related Behaviors, Distress, and Beliefs in Response to Receipt of Low- to Moderate-Penetrance Genetic Test Results for Skin Cancer Risk. Cancers: 2024 Nov;16(23):4027. PMID: 39682213, PMC11640494.

2023

SL. Crowder, AW. Buro, JCA. Lacson, JD. Rio, Y. Kim, RG. Roetzheim, SK. Sutton, ST. Vadaparampil, B. Soto-Torres^*, M. Stern, PA. Kanetsky. Qualitative assessment of uptake retention and evaluation of prevention materials for skin cancer among Hispanics. Patient Education and Counseling: 2023 Apr;112:107742. PMID: 37028174, PMC10164708.

JCA. Lacson, SK. Sutton, Y. Kim, RG. Roetzheim, ST. Vadaparampil, B. Soto-Torres^*, PA. Kanetsky. Predictors of correct recall of genetic risk information among Hispanic individuals in Florida and Puerto Rico. Patient Education and Counseling: 2023 Sep;117(doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2023.107978):107978. PMID: 37708699, PMC10872848.

JCA. Lacson, B. Soto-Torres^*, SK. Sutton, SH. Doyle, Y. Kim, RG. Roetzheim, ST. Vadaparampil, PA. Kanetsky. Skin cancer prevention behaviors, beliefs, distress, and worry among hispanics in Florida and Puerto Rico. BMC public health: 2023 Nov;23(1):2234. PMID: 37957686, PMC10644628.

JNR. Rivera, JCA. Lacson, Y. Kim, RG. Roetzheim, SK. Sutton, B. Soto-Torres^*, ST. Vadaparampil, PA. Kanetsky. Sharing and seeking information about skin cancer risk and prevention among Hispanic people from Florida and Puerto Rico. PEC innovation: 2023 Dec;3:100232. PMID: 38028436, PMC10679524.

2022

JC. Lacson, SH. Doyle, JD. Rio, SM. Forgas, R. Carvajal, G. Gonzalez-Calderon, AR. Feliciano, Y. Kim, RG. Roetzheim, S. Sutton, S. Vadaparampil, BS. Torres^†, P. Kanetsky. A Randomized Clinical Trial of Precision Prevention Materials Incorporating MC1R Genetic Risk to Improve Skin Cancer Prevention Activities Among Hispanics. Cancer Res Commun: 2022 Jan;2(1):https://doi.org/10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-21-0114. PMID: 35845857, PMC9286490.

C. Ortiz-Sánchez, J. Encarnación-Medina, JY. Park, N. Moreno, G. Ruiz-Deya, J. Matta. Reduced DNA Repair Capacity in Prostate Cancer Patients: A Phenotypic Approach Using the CometChip. Cancers: 2022 Jun;14(13):3117. PMID: 35804887, PMC9264934.

C. Calderon-Casellas, JCA. Lacson, SM. Forgas, SH. Doyle, JD. Rio, AR. Feliciano, Y. Kim, RG. Roetzheim, SK. Sutton, ST. Vadaparampil, B. Soto-Torres^*, PA. Kanetsky. Assessment of skin cancer precision prevention materials among Hispanics in Florida and Puerto Rico. Patient Education and Counseling: 2022 Jun;NA:S0738-3991(22)00292-0. PMID: 35778318. PMC12045288.

2021

G. Ruiz-Deya, J. Matta, J. Encarnación-Medina, C. Ortiz-Sanchéz, J. Dutil^*, R. Putney, A. Berglund, J. Dhillon, Y. Kim, JY. Park. Differential DNA Methylation in Prostate Tumors from Puerto Rican Men. International journal of molecular sciences: 2021 Jan;22(2). PMID: 33450964, PMC7828429.

G. Ortiz-Hernandez, ES. Hernandez, P. Ochoa, C. Elix, H. Alkashgari, JRW. McMullen, U. Soto, S. Martinez, C. Diaz-Osterman^†, M. Mahler, S. Roy, C. Casiano. The LEDGF/p75 Integrase Binding Domain Interactome Contributes to the Survival, Clonogenicity, and Tumorsphere Formation of Docetaxel-Resistant Prostate Cancer Cells. Cells: 2021 Oct;10(10):2723. PMID: 34685704, PMC8534522.

A. Berglund, J. Matta, J. Encarnacion-Medina, C. Ortiz-Sanchez, J. Dutil^*, R. Linares, J. Marcial, C. Abreu-Takemura, N. Moreno, R. Putney, R. Chakrabari, H. Lin, K. Yamoah, C. Diaz-Osterman^†, L. Wang, J. Dhillon, Y. Kim, SJ. Kim, G. Ruiz-Deya, J. Park. Dysregulation of DNA Methylation and Epigenetic Clocks in Prostate Cancer among Puerto Rican Men. Biomolecules: 2021 Dec;12(1):2. PMID: 35053153, PMC8773891.

2010-2020

B. Pagán, AA. Isidro, D. Coppola, Z. Chen, Y. Ren, J. Wu, CB. Appleyard^†. Effect of a neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist in a rat model of colitis-associated colon cancer. Anticancer research: 2010 Sep;30(9). PMID: 20944107, PMC3733557.

B. Pagán, AA. Isidro, ML. Cruz, Y. Ren, D. Coppola, J. Wu, CB. Appleyard^*. Erlotinib inhibits progression to dysplasia in a colitis-associated colon cancer model. World journal of gastroenterology: 2011 Nov;17(44). PMID: 22171126, PMC3235628.

I. Flores, T. Muñoz-Antonia, J. Matta, M. García, D. Fenstermacher, S. Gutierrez^†, E. Seijo, J. Torres-Ruiz, WJ. Pledger, D. Coppola. The Establishment of the First Cancer Tissue Biobank at a Hispanic-Serving Institution: A National Cancer Institute-Funded Initiative between Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida and the Ponce School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Puerto Rico. Biopreservation and biobanking: 2011 Dec;9(4). PMID: 24836632, PMC5206688.

M. Colón-Díaz, P. Báez-Vega, M. García, A. Ruiz, JB. Monteiro, J. Fourquet, M. Bayona, C. Alvarez-Garriga, A. Achille, E. Seto, I. Flores. HDAC1 and HDAC2 are differentially expressed in endometriosis. Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.): 2012 May;19(5). PMID: 22344732, PMC3343094.

KJ. Wells, DS. Lima, CD. Meade, T. Muñoz-Antonia, I. Scarinci, A. McGuire, CK. Gwede, WJ. Pledger, E. Partridge, J. Lipscomb, R. Matthews, J. Matta, I. Flores, R. Weiner, T. Turner, L. Miele, TE. Wiese, M. Fouad, CS. Moreno, M. Lacey, DW. Christie, EG. Price-Haywood, GP. Quinn, D. Coppola, SO. Sodeke, BL. Green, MY. Lichtveld, R3G. investigators. Assessing needs and assets for building a regional network infrastructure to reduce cancer related health disparities. Evaluation and program planning: 2014 Jun;44. PMID: 24486917, PMC4360072.

E. Mora, JA. Robb, G. Stefanoff, RH. Mellado, D. Coppola, T. Muñoz-Antonia, I. Flores. Proceedings of the 1st Puerto Rico Biobanking Workshop. Reviews on recent clinical trials: 2014 Oct;9(4). PMID: 25626063, PMC4635463.

J. Encarnación, C. Ortiz, R. Vergne, W. Vargas, D. Coppola, JL. Matta. High DRC Levels Are Associated with Let-7b Overexpression in Women with Breast Cancer. International journal of molecular sciences: 2016 Jun;17(6). PMID: 27271599, PMC4926399.

MB. Schabath, D. Cress, T. Munoz-Antonia. Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Epidemiology and Genomics of Lung Cancer. Cancer control : journal of the Moffitt Cancer Center: 2016 Oct;23(4). PMID: 27842323, PMC5340153.

E. Seijo, D. Lima, E. Iriabho, J. Almeida, J. Monico, M. Echeverri, S. Gutierrez^*, I. Flores, J. Lee, K. Fisher, WE. Grizzle, GL. Sica, C. Butler, C. Hicks, CD. Meade, SO. Sodeke, K. Moroz, D. Coppola, T. Munoz-Antonia. Construction and Validation of a Multi-Institutional Tissue Microarray of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma From Racially and Ethnically Diverse Populations. Cancer control : journal of the Moffitt Cancer Center: 2016 Oct;23(4). PMID: 27842327, PMC5268085.

NT. Gimbrone, B. Sarcar, ER. Gordian, JI. Rivera, C. Lopez, SJ. Yoder, JK. Teer, EA. Welsh, AA. Chiappori, MB. Schabath, GW. Reuther, J. Dutil^*, M. Garcia, R. Ventosilla-Villanueva, L. Vera-Valdivia, A. Yabar-Berrocal, R. Motta-Guerrero, PG. Santiago-Cardona^*, T. Muñoz-Antonia, WD. Cress. Somatic Mutations and Ancestry Markers in Hispanic Lung Cancer Patients. Journal of thoracic oncology : official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer: 2017 Dec;12(12). PMID: 28911955, PMC5701827.

D. Reverón, C. López, S. Gutiérrez^*, ZE. Sayegh, TA. Munoz, J. Dutil, M. Malafa, D. Coppola. Frequency of Mismatch Repair Protein Deficiency in a Puerto Rican Population with Colonic Adenoma and Adenocarcinoma. Cancer genomics & proteomics: 2018 Mar;15(4). PMID: 29976631, PMC6070705.

J. Pérez-Morales, D. Mejías-Morales, S. Rivera-Rivera, J. González-Flores, M. González-Loperena, FY. Cordero-Báez, WM. Pedreira-García, C. Chardón-Colón, J. Cabán-Rivera, WD. Cress, ER. Gordian, T. Muñoz-Antonia, M. Cabrera-Ríos, A. Isidro, D. Coppola, M. Rosa^†, TA. Boyle, V. Izumi, JM. Koomen, PG. Santiago-Cardona^*. Hyper-phosphorylation of Rb S249 together with CDK5R2/p39 overexpression are associated with impaired cell adhesion and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition: Implications as a potential lung cancer grading and staging biomarker. PloS one: 2018 Nov;13(11). PMID: 30452490, PMC6242691.

B. Sarcar, NT. Gimbrone, G. Wright, LLR. Rix, ER. Gordian, U. Rix, AA. Chiappori, GW. Reuther, PG. Santiago-Cardona^*, T. Muñoz-Antonia, WD. Cress. Characterization of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) P848L, an unusual EGFR variant present in lung cancer patients, in a murine Ba/F3 model. FEBS open bio: 2019 Oct;9(10). PMID: 31314158, PMC6768113.

AK. Smit, M. Collazo-Roman, ST. Vadaparampil, S. Valavanis, JD. Rio, B. Soto^†, I. Flores, J. Dutil^*, PA. Kanetsky. MC1R variants and associations with pigmentation characteristics and genetic ancestry in a Hispanic, predominately Puerto Rican, population. Scientific reports: 2020 Apr;10(1). PMID: 32350296, PMC7190662.