Faculty

Anne McTiernan

Research Professor, Epidemiology
Adjunct Research Professor, Medicine - Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine

206-667-7979

Education

MD Internal Medicine, New York Medical College, 1989
PhD Epidemiology, University of Washington, 1982
BA Sociology, Boston University, 1974

Contact

206-667-7979

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Box 358080
1100 Fairview Ave N., M4-B874
PO Box 19024
Seattle, WA 98109

Bio

Anne McTiernan, MD, PhD is a Full Member at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Research Professor at the University of Washington Schools of Medicine and Public Health. Her research focuses on diet, obesity, exercise, and risk for cancer development and prognosis. She was Principal Investigator of the NCI-funded Seattle Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer program that investigated mechanisms linking obesity and sedentary lifestyles with cancer. She has received research funding from the NIH, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Susan G. Komen, and other organizations. She is an elected Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine and the Obesity Society. She has published more than 400 scientific manuscripts, is lead author of the book, "Breast Fitness" (St. Martin’s Press, 2000), and editor of "Cancer Prevention and Management through Exercise and Weight Control" (CRC Press LLL, 2005) and "Physical Activity, Dietary Calorie Restriction, and Cancer" (Springer; 2010). She has served on several advisory committees including the World Cancer Research Fund expert panel, the 2008 and 2018 U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committees, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the American Cancer Society. Dr. McTiernan’s memoir is, "Starved: A Nutrition Doctor’s Journey from Empty to Full" (Central Recovery Press, November 2016).

Research Areas

Research Interests

Dr. McTiernan's research focuses on identifying ways to prevent new or recurrent cancer with a particular focus on weight control, physical activity, and chemoprevention.

Dr. McTiernan was Principal Investigator of an NCI-funded randomized controlled clinical trial that tested dietary weight loss, exercise, and both vs. controls on breast cancer biomarkers in 439 postmenopausal women. With additional NIH funding, ancillary studies tested the effects of these interventions on telomere length, oxidative stress, angiogenesis, ghrelin, adipose tissue biology, long-term weight maintenance, long-term weight loss effects on cancer biomarkers, and behaviors predicting weight loss. She was Principal Investigator of the Seattle site of the NCI-funded Health, Eating, Activity, and Lifestyle (HEAL) cohort, which is assessing associations of anthropometrics, body composition, hormones, diet, and physical activity with breast cancer prognosis. Dr. McTiernan was Principal Investigator of the Seattle site of the NCIC (Canada) ExCel trial, which tested the effect of exemestane, an aromatase inhibitor, on breast cancer prevention. She was also Principal Investigator of the Komen-funded ViDA randomized controlled trial that tested the effects of vitamin D vs. placebo on weight and breast cancer biomarkers in women undergoing a weight loss program.

Dr. McTiernan is honored to receive funding each year from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, to explore the effects of weight loss and vitamin D on various biomarkers of breast cancer. The 2017-18 grant is funding research on weight loss effect on microRNA related to obesity and breast cancer. She also has NIH funding to determine the effects of exercise on colon crypt cell DNA methylation. Currently, Dr. McTiernan also collaborates with several trials testing exercise effects in cancer survivors, including breast, prostate, and head and neck cancer survivors.

Previously, she has conducted a randomized trial of a one-year aerobic exercise intervention vs. control in 173 postmenopausal women to assess the effect of exercise on breast cancer biomarkers including sex hormones. Ancillary studies tested the effect of aerobic exercise on immune function and other biomarkers of breast cancer risk. She was Principal Investigator of the NCI-funded U54 grant (Seattle TREC Center) investigating mechanisms of energy balance and cancer prevention which included five projects and five supporting administrative cores. She led a randomized clinical trial testing aspirin effect on breast cancer biomarkers. She was Principal Investigator of a randomized trial to test the effect of a one-year aerobic exercise intervention vs. control on colorectal cell proliferation, apoptosis, and prostaglandin content, and on other biomarkers of colon cancer risk in 200 men and women. Dr. McTiernan was a co-Investigator in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), and directed clinical outcomes efforts at the WHI Clinical Coordinating Center.

Dr. McTiernan was a member of the 2008 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee, and is a member of the 2018 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee. She is a member of the advisory committee to the World Cancer Research Fund for their work on diet, obesity, physical activity, and cancer risk and survival. From 2010-2012 she was a Komen Scholar, and in 2012 she received a Citation Award from the American College of Sports Medicine for her research contributions on physical activity and health.

Recent Publications (PubMed)

Generalized Linear Models with Covariate Measurement Error and Zero-Inflated Surrogates.
(2024 Jan)
Mathematics (Basel) 12(2):
Wang CY, de Dieu Tapsoba J, Duggan C, McTiernan A
Diet Matters in Breast Cancer Prognosis: Clinical Trial Evidence and Questions.
(2024 Mar 1)
Clin Cancer Res 30(5): 931-933
McTiernan A
Exploring anxiety as an influencing factor of the impact of exercise and mind-body prehabilitation on cognitive functioning among women undergoing breast cancer surgery.
(2024)
J Psychosoc Oncol 42(3): 448-456
Knoerl R, Sannes TS, Giobbie-Hurder A, Frank ES, McTiernan A, Winer EP, Irwin ML, Ligibel JA
Eating disorders in weight-related therapy (EDIT): Protocol for a systematic review with individual participant data meta-analysis of eating disorder risk in behavioural weight management.
(2023)
PLoS One 18(7): e0282401
Jebeile H, Lister NB, Libesman S, Hunter KE, McMaster CM, Johnson BJ, Baur LA, Paxton SJ, Garnett SP, Ahern AL, Wilfley DE, Maguire S, Sainsbury A, Steinbeck K, Askie L, Braet C, Hill AJ, Nicholls D, Jones RA, Dammery G, Grunseit AM, Cooper K, Kyle TK, Heeren FA, Quigley F, Barnes RD, Bean MK, Beaulieu K, Bonham M, Boutelle KN, Branco BHM, Calugi S, Cardel MI, Carpenter K, Cheng HL, Dalle Grave R, Danielsen YS, Demarzo M, Dordevic A, Eichen DM, Goldschmidt AB, Hilbert A, Houben K, Lofrano do Prado M, Martin CK, McTiernan A, Mensinger JL, Pacanowski C, do Prado WL, Ramalho SM, Raynor HA, Rieger E, Robinson E, Salvo V, Sherwood NE, Simpson SA, Skjakodegard HF, Smith E, Partridge S, Tanofsky-Kraff M, Taylor RW, Van Eyck A, Varady KA, Vidmar AP, Whitelock V, Yanovski J, Seidler AL, Eating Disorders In weight-related Therapy (EDIT) Collaboration
Telehealth acceptance and commitment therapy for weight loss: Protocol of the WeLNES full scale randomized controlled trial.
(2023 Mar)
Contemp Clin Trials 126(): 107091
Bricker JB, Mull KE, Sullivan BM, Forman EM, Lillis J, McTiernan A, Santiago-Torres M
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