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National Cancer Institute U.S. National Institutes of Health www.cancer.gov
About DCEG

James J. Goedert, M.D.

Senior Investigator

Location: Executive Plaza South, Room 7068
Phone: 301-435-4724
Fax: 301-402-0817
E-mail: goedertj@mail.nih.gov

 James J. Goedert, M.D.

Biography

Dr. Goedert earned a B.A. degree in psychology from Yale University and an M.D. from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine. He received postgraduate training at Georgetown University Hospital, and he is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. Dr. Goedert joined the NCI Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program as a medical staff fellow in 1980. He was appointed chief of the AIDS and Cancer Section of the Viral Epidemiology Branch in 1992, and served as chief of the Branch from 1995 to 2008. Dr. Goedert received the PHS Outstanding Service Medal and the International AIDS Society's 1992 International LIFE Prize for his study of twins born to HIV-1-infected mothers. He was elected chair of the NCI Faculty of HIV and Cancer Associated Viruses in 2001, and he serves on the NCI Special Studies Institutional Review Board and on the editorial boards of several journals.

Research Interests

The epidemiology of infection-associated malignancies provides the scientific underpinnings for large-scale, effective public health and clinical interventions. It also affords opportunities for insight on basic mechanisms of carcinogenesis.

The human microbiome and cancer

The microbiome refers to the sum of all of the gene sequences in a community of microbes. Rapidly improving, high-throughput DNA amplification and sequencing technologies are being used to characterize the microbial communities that reside on and in the human body, as well as their associations with disease. In collaboration with the Center for Genome Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and with the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California, we have launched a study to compare the fecal microbiome of twin pairs who are discordant for Hodgkin lymphoma. Specifically, the variable region of the 16S rRNA gene, which is present in all bacteria, will be amplified and sequenced. To test the hygiene hypothesis, that links Hodgkin lymphoma to fewer exposures in childhood, the study postulates that Hodgkin cases and people with fewer oral exposures in early childhood will have less diversity in their fecal microbiome.

HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C virus (HCV)

The positive impact of our prospective cohort studies of homosexual men, people with hemophilia, and pregnant women and their offspring is apparent in the serologic screening, behavioral interventions, clinical monitoring, and therapeutic decision making that have reduced HIV incidence and AIDS-related mortality in the U.S. and other industrialized countries. Later outcomes of HIV/AIDS and HCV have been the focus of the Second Multicenter Hemophilia Cohort Study (MHCS-II) that enrolled and followed more than 2600 participants at 54 centers during 2001-2005. Thanks to potent pharmacologic therapy and relatively low pathogenecity of HCV, clinical events have been less frequent than expected. A substantial data set and procedures for requesting data and specimens have been publicized at http://mhcs-ii.rti.org. Currently, exogeneous and endogenous determinants of spontaneous clearance of HCV RNA are being identified. Cumulative incidence of major clinical events may be assessed in 2009 or 2010.

Classical Kaposi sarcoma (KS) and KS-associated herpes virus (KSHV)

In 1994, the long sought infectious cause of KS was discovered to be a gamma herpesvirus, now known as KSHV or human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8). KS is the major AIDS-related malignancy. Because both HIV and KSHV are highly prevalent in large areas of sub-Saharan Africa, KS has become the most common of all malignancies in several of these countries. In contrast, classical (non-AIDS) KS is rare, even in Mediterranean adult populations that have KSHV seroprevalence above 10 percent. To understand the epidemiology of KSHV and risk factors for classical KS, we have conducted several studies in Italy. In a case-control study of classical KS cases compared to KSHV seropositive controls, KS was significantly associated with infrequent bathing, topical corticosterioid use, asthma history, non-smoking. We conducted a randomized clinical trial that found topical nicotine to be safe but ineffective for classical KS. Field work on a second case-control study of classical KS conducted throughout Sicily was completed in 2006. In addition to validating, refuting, or refining the previous associations with classical KS, novel hypotheses related to specific plant and soil exposures are being explored. In collaboration with geneticists, the combined studies are being used to identify host genetic susceptibility.

Keywords

AIDS, bacteria, breast cancer, hemophilia, hepatitis C virus (HCV), end-stage liver disease, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), immune deficiency, Kaposi sarcoma (KS), Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), lung cancer, mycobacteria, registry studies, viruses.

Selected Publications

Collaborators

DCEG Collaborators

  • Demetrius Albanes, M.D.; Robert Biggar, M.D.; Eric Engels, M.D., M.P.H.; Montserrat Garcia-Closas, M.D., Dr.P.H.; Barry Graubard, Ph.D.; Sam Mbulaiteye, M.Bch.B., M.Phil.; Ruth Pfeiffer, Ph.D.; Charles Rabkin, M.D., M.Sc.; Philip Rosenberg, Ph.D.; Denise Whitby, Ph.D.

Other NCI Collaborators

  • Mary Carrington, Ph.D.; Stephen O'Brien, Ph.D.; Cheryl Winkler, Ph.D.

Other Scientific Collaborators

  • Louis Aledort, M.D., Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY
  • Marcello De Las Heras, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
  • Kathryn Edwards, M.D., Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
  • M. Elaine Eyster, M.D., Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA
  • Lorenzo Gafa, Lega Italiana per la lotta contro i tumori- sez.,Ragusa, Italy
  • Angelos Hatzakis, M.D., University of Athens, Greece
  • Barbara Konkle, M.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
  • Barbara Kroner, Ph.D., RIT International, Rockville, MD
  • Carmela Lauria, M.D., Lega Italiana per la lotta contro i tumori- sez.,Ragusa, Italy
  • Michael Lederman, M.D., Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
  • Angelo Messina, M.D., University of Catania, Catania, Italy
  • Giovanni Rezza, M.D., Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, Italy
  • Nino Romano, M.D., University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
  • Susan Ross, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Margaret Spitz, M.D., University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
  • Karin Weldingh, Ph.D., Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Ignacio Wistuba, M.D., University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
  • Francesco Vitale, M.D., University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy