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Louise C. Strong, M.D.

Present Title & Affiliation

Primary Appointment

Professor (with Tenure), Department of Genetics, UTMDACC, Houston, TX
Sue and Radcliffe Killam Chair, Department of Genetics, UTMDACC, Houston, TX

Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment

Professor of Cancer Genetics, Joint Appointment, Department of Breast Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, UTMDACC, Houston

Research Interests

  • Human cancer genetics
  • Genetic epidemiology

The program involves the study of genetic etiology of human cancer using genetic epidemiologic approach to identify the most likely etiologic model(s) to account for the distribution of tumors in kindreds, and to test for genetic/etiologic heterogeneity. We then identify families in which a genetic etiology seems likely for collaborative study using cytogenetic, biochemical and molecular markers to localize the gene. We are further investigating the role of radiation, chemotherapy and host predisposing factors in the risk of subsequent tumors in childhood cancer survivors and in the reproductive outcomes in childhood cancer survivors.

A tutorial in this laboratory would include introduction to field work of data collection by interview, analytic techniques of genetic epidemiology and interpretation of laboratory findings from the collaborative laboratory studies.

Office Address

Phone: (713) 792-2589

Education & Training

Degree-Granting Education

1970 University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, MD, Medicine
1966 University of Texas, Austin, TX, BA, Mathematics

Experience/Service

Endowed Positions

Sue and Radcliffe Killam Professorship, Division of Pediatrics, UTMDACC, Houston, TX, 3/1981-9/1995

Honors and Awards

1999 Charles A. LeMaistre Outstanding Achievement Award in Cancer, UTMDACC
1997-1998 Fellowship, Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Program for Women, Allegheny University of the Health Sciences
1997 Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumna, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
1997 Distinguished Texas Geneticist Award, Texas Genetics Society
1992 First Annual Faculty Achievement Award in Cancer Prevention, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
1984 Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Oncology, Texas Federation of Business and Professional Women, Past State President
1983-2008 Award for Outstanding Retina Research Achievement, Retina Research Foundation, 1983, 1987,1993, 2005, 2008

Selected Publications

Peer-Reviewed Original Research Articles
1. Robison LL, Armstrong GT, Boice JD, Chow EJ, Davies SM, Donaldson SS, Green DM, Hammond S, Meadows AT, Mertens AC, Mulvihill JJ, Nathan PC, Neglia JP, Packer RJ, Rajaraman P, Sklar CA, Stovall M, Strong LC, Yasui Y, Zeltzer LK. The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study: A National Cancer Institute supported resource for outcome and intervention research. J Clin Oncol 27(14):2308-18, 5/2009. PMID: 19364948.
2. Neklason DW, Kerber RA, Nilson DB, Anton-Culver H, Schwartz AG, Griffin CA, Lowery JT, Schildkraut JM, Evans JP, Tomlinson GE, Strong LC, Miller AR, Stopfer JE, Finkelstein DM, Nadkarni PM, Kasten CH, Mineau GP, Burt RW. Common familial colorectal cancer linked to chromosome 7q31: a genome wide-analysis. Cancer Res 68(21):8993-7, 11/2008. PMID: 18974144.
3. Peterson SK, Pentz RD, Blanco AM, Ward PA, Marani SK, LaRue D, Vogel K, Solomon T, Strong LC. Psychological functioning in persons considering genetic counseling and testing for Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Psycho-Oncology 17(8):783-789, 8/2008. PMID: 18688785.
4. Atwal GS, Rabadán R, Lozano G, Strong LC, Ruijs MW, Schmidt MK, van't Veer LJ, Nevanlinna H, Tommiska J, Aittomäki K, Bougeard G, Frebourg T, Levine AJ, Bond GL. An information-theoretic analysis of genetics, gender and age in cancer patients. PLoS ONE 3(4):e1951, 4/2008. PMID: 18398474.
5. Kleinbaum EP, Lazar AJ, Tamborini E, McAuliffe JC, Sylvestre PB, Sunnenberg TD, Strong L, Chen LL, Choi H, Benjamin RS, Zhang W, Trent JC. Clinical, histopathologic, molecular and therapeutic findings in a large kindred with gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Int J Cancer 122(3):711-718, 2/2008.
6. Parmigiani G, Friebel T, Iversen ES, Chen S, Finkelstein D, Anton-Culver H, Ziogas A, Weber BL, Eisen A, Malone KE, Daling JR, Hsu L, Ostrander EA, Peterson LE, Schildkraut JM, Isaacs C, Peshkin BN, Corio C, Leondaridis L, Tomlinson G, Amos CI, Strong LC, Berry DA, Weitzel JN, Sand S, Dutson D, Kerber R, Euhus DM. Validity of models for prediction of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. Ann Intern Med 147(7):441-50, 10/2007. PMID: 17909205.
7. Henderson TO, Whitton J, Stovall M, Mertens AC, Mitby P, Friedman D, Strong LC, Hammond S, Neglia JP, Meadows AT, Robison L, Diller L. Secondary sarcomas in childhood cancer survivors: A report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study. J Natl Cancer Inst 99(4):300-308, 2007. PMID: 17312307.
8. Uyei A, Peterson SK, Erlichman J, Broglio K, Yekell S, Schmeler K, Lu K, Meric-Bernstam F, Amos C, Strong L, Arun B. Association between clinical characteristics and risk-reduction interventions in women who underwent BRCA1 and BRCA2 testing: a single-institution study. Cancer 107:2745-51, 12/2006. PMID: 17109443.
9. Wu CC, Shete S, Amos CI, Strong LC. Joint Effects of Germ-Line p53 Mutation and Sex on Cancer Risk in Li-Fraumeni Syndrome. Cancer Res 66:8287-92, 8/2006. PMID: 16912210.
10. Peterson SK, Pentz RD, Blanco AM, Ward PA, Watts BG, Marani SK, James LC, Strong LC. Evaluation of a decision aid for families considering p53 genetic counseling and testing. Genet Med 8:226-33, 4/2006. PMID: 16617243.
11. Kadan-Lottick NS, Kawashima T, Tomlinson G, Friedman DL, Yasui Y, Mertens AC, Robison LL, Strong LC. The risk of cancer in twins: a report from the childhood cancer survivor study. Pediatr Blood Cancer 46:476-81, 4/2006. PMID: 16078231.
12. Barcenas CH, Hosain GM, Arun B, Zong J, Zhou X, Chen J, Cortada JM, Mills GB, Tomlinson GE, Miller AR, Strong LC, Amos CI. Assessing BRCA carrier probabilities in extended families. J Clin Oncol 24:354-60, 1/2006. PMID: 16421416.
13. Matthews AG, Betensky RA, Anton-Culver H, Bowen D, Griffin C, Isaacs C, Kasten C, Mineau G, Nayfield S, Schildkraut J, Strong L, Weber B, Finkelstein DM. Analysis of co-aggregation of cancer based on registry data. Community Genet 9:87-92, 2006. PMID: 16612058.
14. Travis LB, Rabkin CS, Morris Brown LM, Allan JM, Alter BP, Ambrosone CB, Begg CB, Caporaso N, Chanock S, DeMichele A, Figg WD, Gospodarowicz MK, Hall EJ, Hisada M, Inskip P, Kleinerman R, Little JB, Malkin D, Ng AK, Offit K, Pui C-H, Robison LL, Rothman N, Shields PG, Strong L, Taniguchi T, Tucker MA, Greene MH. Cancer survivorship - Genetic susceptibility and second primary cancers: Research strategies and recommendations. J Natl Cancer Inst 98(1):15-25, 2006. PMID: 16391368.
15. Chen S, Iversen ES, Friebel T, Finkelstein D, Weber BL, Eisen A, Peterson LE, Schildkraut JM, Isaacs C, Peshkin BN, Corio C, Leondaridis L, Tomlinson G, Dutson D, Kerber R, Amos CI, Strong LC, Berry DA, Euhus DM, Parmigiani G. Characterization of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in a large United States sample. J Clin Oncol 24(6):863-871, 2006. PMID: 16484695.
16. Brown BW, Costello TJ, Hwang SJ, Strong LC. Generation or birth cohort effect on cancer risk in Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Hum Genet 118:489-98, 12/2005. PMID: 16284780.
17. Robison LL, Green DM, Hudson M, Meadows AT, Mertens AC, Packer RJ, Sklar CA, Strong LC, Yasui Y, Zeltzer LK. Long-term outcomes of adult survivors of childhood cancer. Cancer 104:2557-64, 12/2005. PMID: 16247780.
18. Friedman DL, Kadan-Lottick NS, Whitton J, Mertens AC, Yasui Y, Liu Y, Meadows AT, Robison LL, Strong LC. Increased risk of cancer among siblings of long-term childhood cancer survivors: a report from the childhood cancer survivor study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 14:1922-7, 8/2005. PMID: 16103438.
19. Bachinski LL, Olufemi SE, Zhou X, Wu CC, Yip L, Shete S, Lozano G, Amos CI, Strong LC, Krahe R. Genetic mapping of a third Li-Fraumeni syndrome predisposition locus to human chromosome 1q23. Cancer Res 65:427-31, 1/2005. PMID: 15695383.
20. Patterson A, Davis H, Euhus D, Neuhausen S, Strong L, Tomlinson G. Recruitment for breast cancer predisposition studies in an underserved African American population. Breast J 11:79-82, 2005. PMID: 15647088.
21. Lang GA, Iwakuma T, Suh YA, Liu G, Rao VA, Parant JM, Valentin-Vega YA, Terzian T, Caldwell LC, Strong LC, El-Naggar AK, Lozano G. Gain of function of a p53 hot spot mutation in a mouse model of Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Cell 119:861-72, 12/2004. PMID: 15607981.
22. Bond GL, Hu W, Bond EE, Robins H, Lutzker SG, Arva NC, Bargonetti J, Bartel F, Taubert H, Wuerl P, Onel K, Yip L, Hwang SJ, Strong LC, Lozano G, Levine AJ. A single nucleotide polymorphism in the MDM2 promoter attenuates the p53 tumor suppressor pathway and accelerates tumor formation in humans. Cell 119:591-602, 11/2004. PMID: 15550242.
23. Barlow JW, Mous M, Wiley JC, Varley JM, Lozano G, Strong LC, Malkin D. Germ line BAX alterations are infrequent in Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 13:1403-6, 8/2004. PMID: 15298965.
24. Gold D, Coombes K, Medhane D, Ramaswamy A, Ju Z, Strong L, Koo JS, Kapoor M. A comparative analysis of data generated using two different target preparation methods for hybridization to high-density oligonucleotide microarrays. BMC Genomics 5:2, 1/2004. PMID: 14709180.
25. Wong SS, Lozano G, Gaff CL, Gardner RJ, Strong LC, Aittomaki K, Lindeman GJ. Novel p53 germline mutation in a patient with Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Intern Med J 33:621, 12/2003. PMID: 14656244.
26. Kadan-Lottick NS, Friedman DL, Mertens AC, Whitton JA, Yasui Y, Strong LC, Robison LL. Self-reported family history of cancer: the utility of probing questions. Epidemiology 14:737-40, 11/2003. PMID: 14569191.
27. Hwang SJ, Cheng LS, Lozano G, Amos CI, Gu X, Strong LC. Lung cancer risk in germline p53 mutation carriers: association between an inherited cancer predisposition, cigarette smoking, and cancer risk. Hum Genet 113:238-43, 8/2003. PMID: 12802680.
28. Hwang SJ, Lozano G, Amos CI, Strong LC. Germline p53 mutations in a cohort with childhood sarcoma: sex differences in cancer risk. Am J Hum Genet 72:975-83, 4/2003. PMID: 12610779.
29. Anton-Culver H, Ziogas A, Bowen D, Finkelstein D, Griffin C, Hanson J, Isaacs C, Kasten-Sportes C, Mineau G, Nadkarni P, Rimer B, Schildkraut J, Strong L, Weber B, Winn D, Hiatt R, Nayfield S. The Cancer Genetics Network: recruitment results and pilot studies. Community Genet 6:171-7, 2003. PMID: 15237201.
30. Shete S, Amos CI, Hwang SJ, Strong LC. Individual-specific liability groups in genetic linkage, with applications to kindreds with Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Am J Hum Genet 70(3):813-7, 3/2002. PMID: 11822026.
31. Chao LY, Huff V, Strong LC, Saunders GF. Mutation in the PAX6 gene in twenty patients with aniridia. Hum Mutat 15:332-9, 2000. PMID: 10737978.
32. Gollahon LS, Kraus E, Wu TA, Yim SO, Strong LC, Shay JW, Tainsky MA. Telomerase activity during spontaneous immortalization of Li-Fraumeni syndrome skin fibroblasts. Oncogene 17(6):709-17, 8/1998. PMID: 9715272.
33. Evans SC, Mims B, McMasters KM, Foster CJ, deAndrade M, Amos CI, Strong LC, Lozano G. Exclusion of a p53 germline mutation in a classic Li-Fraumeni syndrome family. Hum Genet 102(6):681-6, 6/1998. PMID: 9703430.
34. Earley CL, Strong LC. Certificates of confidentiality: a valuable tool for protecting genetic data. Am J Hum Genet 57(3):727-31, 9/1995. PMID: 7668302.
35. Huff V, Jaffe N, Saunders GF, Strong LC, Villalba F, Ruteshouser EC. WT1 exon 1 deletion/insertion mutations in Wilms tumor patients, associated with di- and trinucleotide repeats and deletion hotspot consensus sequences. Am J Hum Genet 56(1):84-90, 1995. PMID: 7825606.
36. Schubert EL, Hansen MF, Strong LC. The retinoblastoma gene and its significance. Ann med 26:177-184, 6/1994.
37. Li FP, Garber JE, Friend SH, Strong LC, Patenaude AF, Juengst ET, Reilly PR, Correa P, Fraumeni JF, Jr. Recommendations on predictive testing for germ line p53 mutations among cancer-prone individuals. J Natl Cancer Inst 84(15):1156-60, 8/1992. PMID: 1635084.
38. Lustbader ED, Williams WR, Bondy ML, Strom S, Strong LC. Segregation analysis of cancer in families of childhood soft-tissue-sarcoma patients. Am J Hum Genet 51(2):344-56, 8/1992. PMID: 1642235.
39. Bischoff FZ, Yim SO, Pathak S, Grant G, Siciliano MJ, Giovanella BC, Strong LC, Tainsky MA. Spontaneous abnormalities in normal fibroblasts from patients with Li-Fraumeni cancer syndrome: aneuploidy and immortalization. Cancer Res 50(24):7979-84, 12/1990. PMID: 2253239.
40. Malkin D, Li FP, Strong LC, Fraumeni JF, Jr, Nelson CE, Kim DH, Kassel J, Gryka MA, Bischoff FZ, Tainsky MA, Friend SH. Germ line p53 mutations in a familial syndrome of breast cancer, sarcomas, and other neoplasms. Science 250(4985):1233-8, 11/1990. PMID: 1978757.
41. Strong LC, Stine M, Norsted TL. Cancer in survivors of childhood soft tissue sarcoma and their relatives. J Natl Cancer Inst 79(6):1213-20, 12/1987. PMID: 3480372.
42. LustbaderED, Williams WR, Strong LC. Analysis of cohort data with uncertainty in stratification. Biometrics 43:793-796, 1987.
43. Knudson AG, Jr, Strong LC. Mutation and cancer: a model for Wilms' tumor of the kidney. J Natl Cancer Inst 48(2):313-24, 2/1972. PMID: 4347033.

Invited Articles
1. Strong LC. The two-hit model for Wilms' tumor: where are we 30 years later? Genes Chromosomes Cancer 38:294-9, 12/2003. PMID: 14566846.
2. Strong LC. General keynote: Hereditary cancer: Lessons from Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Gynecol Oncol 88:S4-7; discussion S11-3, 2003. PMID: 12586075.
3. Lozano, G, Hansen MF, Strong LC. Functional characterization of inherited p53 mutations. Cancer Bull 46:247-253, 1994.
4. Strong LC, Williams WR. The genetic implications of long-term survival of childhood cancer. A conceptual framework. Am J Pediatr Hematol Oncol 9(1):99-103, 1987. PMID: 3592122.

Abstracts
1. Amos C, Barcenas C, Hosain M, Arun B, Zong J, Chen J, Mills G, Tomlinson G, Miller A, Strong L. Validation of BRCA carrier probability models for extended families. American College of Medical Genetics:A51, 2005.

Book Chapters
1. Walsh CS, Strong LC. Other Syndromes. In: Hereditary Gynecological Cancer: Risk, Prevention, and Management. Ed(s) K Lu. Informa Healthcare: New York, NY, 195-218, 2008.
2. Strong LC, Amos C. Inherited Susceptibility. In: Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention. Oxford University Press: New York, NY, 559-583, 1996.

Last updated: 9/15/2009