M.D., 1963, University of Athens Medical School
M.S., 1968, Harvard School of Public Health
Ph.D., 1971, University of Athens Medical School
Dr. Trichopoulos' main research interest is the evaluation of the hypothesis that hormone-dependent cancers have their origin in the intrauterine life. This hypothesis is compatible with experimental evidence and can explain why it takes more than two generations for the incidence of breast and prostate cancer in Asian immigrants to the U.S. to reach the four times higher incidence prevailing in the host population. The main postulate is that higher levels of pregnancy hormones favor the generation of a higher number of susceptible stem cells with compromised genomic stability. Research in collaboration with Dr. Cc Hsieh and other colleagues in Boston, as well as Drs. Adami and Ekbom at the Karolinska Institute (Sweden), Dr. La Vecchia at the Mario Negri Institute (Italy), Dr. Vatten at the University of Trondheim (Norway), Dr. Lagiou at the University of Athens Medical School and other colleagues has provided supportive evidence for the hypothesis.
Dr. Trichopoulos is also studying the multifactorial etiology of hepatocellular cancer, with emphasis on the interactive effects of hepatitis B and C viruses, tobacco smoking and ethanol intake. Moreover, he continues his international collaborative work on the effects of human diet on health and disease and has co-edited two textbooks on epidemiology and cancer etiology published by Oxford University Press.