Yutaka Yasui, PhD

During the 1960s, only about 30% of children diagnosed with cancer had a five-year survival rate. Today, pediatric cancer survivorship in the United States has risen to approximately 85%. Yet, despite the increasing success for five-year survival, survivors are likely to develop a variety of late effects from therapy they received. These late effects may include secondary cancers, cardiovascular problems, respiratory issues, endocrine/fertility issues, and neurocognitive challenges, among others. Within the Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, our research aims to identify those at high risk for particular late effects, screen them with proper methods and frequencies, and intervene with specifically targeted interventions as early as possible to improve outcomes. We accomplish our work through extensive interdisciplinary collaboration with a myriad of scientists in the Cancer Control and Survivorship Program.

Our research, conducted through the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) and the St. Jude LIFE cohort, focuses on the genetic components underlying the late effects of cancer treatment. While cancer treatments may largely determine the risk for late effects, those risks are modified by an individuals’ germline genetics and inherited susceptibility to radiation sensitivity and chemotherapy toxicity. We aim to predict these risks statistically, with a focus on the combined impact germline genetics and therapies have on the risk for developing late chronic conditions associated with pediatric cancer treatment. 

We also engage in fundamental methodological research to analyze germline genetic data in relation to disease risk, focusing on the joint influence of multiple loci. For example, while breast cancer is a widely studied phenotype with vast amounts of available data, the amount of risk attributable to germline DNA—known as ‘heritability’— remains only partially explained. Through this methodological study, we learn how germline genetics contributes to breast cancer risk, and we become better positioned to accurately determine survivor’s risk for the disease and other late effects.

As our research contributes to a growing body of knowledge about the role of germline genetics in childhood cancer late effects, we will be able to develop effective interventions that help offset late effects and chronic conditions that arise from therapeutic treatment.