Pamela J. Goodwin, MD, MSc, FRCP(C)

2007-2008 BCRF Project:
Lifestyle factors (notably obesity, diet, exercise), psychological factors and health-related quality of life are of great relevance in women with breast cancer. Since 1989, Dr. Goodwin and her colleagues have studied these issues in women with newly diagnosed breast cancer, confirming that overweight women have worse breast cancer outcomes, and that high insulin levels arising from obesity may mediate this effect, acting as growth factors to stimulate breast cancer growth.

With BCRF support, Dr. Goodwin and her team are examining the long-term status of approximately 300 breast cancer survivors who are 10-15 years after diagnosis. These women participated in a study of lifestyle factors, quality of life and psychosocial status at the time of diagnosis (1989-1996); they also provided a blood specimen that was analyzed for a variety of physiological factors and they were followed over time for recurrence and death.

With BCRF funding over the past 32 months, the research team has recontacted and reassessed long term survivors. Of the 388 women who were potentially eligible, 62 (16%) were ineligible, 284 (92.5% of eligible women) completed the study, 23 (5.9%) refused and 19 (4.9%) could not be found. The researchers have completed data collection and data entry and are commencing data cleaning followed by statistical analyses, in keeping with their study plan. By recruiting a control group of non-breast cancer patients, as Dr. Goodwin will do over the coming year with BCRF funding, the researchers will obtain important information about how long-term breast cancer survivors differ from women without breast cancer in terms of general health status, psychosocial status, quality of life and selected physiologic variables.

Mid-Year Progress Report:
Dr. Goodwin's group is studying long-term breast cancer survivors focusing on medical, psychosocial, quality of life and physiologic variables. A group of healthy controls is being recruited. Early results have shown that weight and some physiologic predictors of breast cancer outcomes worsen over time.

Bio:
Dr. Pamela Goodwin has been actively involved in research relating to breast cancer for the past 20 years. Early in her career, she became intrigued with the possibility that lifestyle, especially obesity, might impact outcomes of women diagnosed with breast cancer. She began a program of research that focused on the role of lifestyle factors, including nutrition, exercise and related factors in the clinical course of breast cancer. She has led a number of studies which investigate the complex interactions between body size, nutrition, exercise and physiologic mediators such as insulin, IGF-I and vitamin D, examining the impact of these factors on survival of women diagnosed with breast cancer. She has also led a multicentre randomized trial that demonstrated that participation in support groups helped women who were psychologically distressed by their breast cancer cope with their cancer, however, support groups did not influence survival. More recently, Dr. Goodwin has begun investigating the status of long-term breast cancer survivors and the influences of hereditary factors and vitamin D on breast cancer outcomes.

Dr. Goodwin is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto, with cross appointments in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and in the School of Graduate Studies. She is a Scientist in the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital, Director of the hospital's Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre and holder of the Marvelle Koffler Chair in Breast Research.