Charles Lacson, PhD
Dr. Lacson is a molecular epidemiologist for the PROject for Military Exposures and Toxin History Evaluation among US Service Members (PROMETHEUS), which is interested in examining how military exposures affect long-term cancer risk. He is primarily interested in Testicular Cancer and Melanoma, the top two most common cancers among active-duty service members.
He is also involved with the Applied Proteogenomics OrganizationaL Learning and Outcomes (APOLLO), which aims to identify proteogenomic markers associated with clinical outcomes, such as survival, recurrence, and metastasis. He currently leads APOLLO 11 and is partnering with investigators from Harvard Mass Gen Brigham and the Joint Pathology Center to determine diagnostic and prognostic markers of melanoma by using artificial intelligence analysis of whole slide images.
Dr. Lacson also advises on the Framingham longitudinal serum studies that aim to identify early serum markers of selected cancers, including melanoma. He is leading Framingham 7, which is a case-case-control study that aims to identify serum biomarkers that are associated with testicular cancer risk, biology, prognosis, and response to treatment.
Lastly, Dr. Lacson is part of the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Surveillance Research Network, which is launching the Vanguard Trial, which aims to assess the feasibility of conducting a large nationwide randomized controlled trial of multi-cancer detection assays.
Applied Research Scientist, Department of Cancer Epidemiology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 2020-2023
AACR Integrative Molecular Epidemiology Workshop attendee, July 2022
NIH/NIGMS T32 Predoctoral Fellow in Cellular, Biochemical, Molecular, and Genomic Sciences, 2011-2013
| Lacson JCA, Kim Y, Roetzheim RG, Sutton SK, Vadaparampil ST, Kanetsky PA. Predictors of genetic risk recall among the participants of a randomized controlled precision prevention trial against melanoma. Genet Med. 2023 Apr;25(4):100005. doi: 10.1016/j.gim.2023.100005. Epub 2023 Jan 7. PubMed PMID: 36629029; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10085824. |
| Lacson JCA, Doyle SH, Del Rio J, Forgas SM, Carvajal R, Gonzalez-Calderon G, Feliciano AR, Kim Y, Roetzheim RG, Sutton SK, Vadaparampil ST, Soto-Torres B, Kanetsky PA. 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):28-38. doi: 10.1158/2767-9764.crc-21-0114. Epub 2022 Jan 11. PubMed PMID: 35845857; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9286490. |
| Lacson JCA, Doyle SH, Qian L, Del Rio J, Forgas SM, Valavanis S, Carvajal R, Gonzalez-Calderon G, Kim Y, Roetzheim RG, Sutton SK, Vadaparampil ST, Kanetsky PA. A Randomized Trial of Precision Prevention Materials to Improve Primary and Secondary Melanoma Prevention Activities among Individuals with Limited Melanoma Risk Phenotypes. Cancers (Basel). 2021 Jun 23;13(13). doi: 10.3390/cancers13133143. PubMed PMID: 34201795; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8267659. |
| Lacson JCA, Ma H, Lee E, Neuhausen SL, Anton-Culver H, Reynolds P, Nelson DO, Ziogas A, Van Den Berg D, Deapen DM, Bernstein L, Schumacher FR. Genome-Wide Testing of Exonic Variants and Breast Cancer Risk in the California Teachers Study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2017 Sep;26(9):1462-1465. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-17-0364. PubMed PMID: 28864454. |
| Lacson JC, Carroll JD, Tuazon E, Castelao EJ, Bernstein L, Cortessis VK. Population-based case-control study of recreational drug use and testis cancer risk confirms an association between marijuana use and nonseminoma risk. Cancer. 2012 Nov 1;118(21):5374-83. doi: 10.1002/cncr.27554. Epub 2012 Sep 10. PubMed PMID: 22965656; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3775603. |
Area of Research
Institution Affiliations
HJF Molecular Epidemiologist in support of Murtha Cancer Center Research Program, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University