History of molecular pathological epidemiology (MPE)

The past key events below represent history and milestones of MPE (since 2007; in a reversed chronological order).  Although MPE-type research existed even in 1990s, it was widely regarded as a part of molecular epidemiology.  Although that was a reasonable awareness, it had hindered the development of new statistical methods, concepts, and research standards.  In addition, MPE must be recognized as a single unified field (but not merely a collaboration of two fields of pathology and epidemiology).  That is why MPE was made as a unique field from other areas of genetic and molecular epidemiology.

(September 6, 2022) The MPE approach can be used to study early-onset cancers in many organ systems, which has shown increasing incidence in many countries (Ugai T et al. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2022; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41571-022-00672-8).

(May 24 to 25, 2021) The 5th International Molecular Pathological Epidemiology (MPE) Meeting was held virtually.

(November 20, 2020) The MPE concept was combined with lifecourse epidemiology to study early-onset cancers, described in Akimoto N et al. Nat Rev Clin Oncol (published in print in 2021) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33219329/

(January 11, 2019) The concept paper on the integrative microbiology-MPE was published online (Hamada et al. J Pathol “Integration of microbiology, molecular pathology, and epidemiology: a new paradigm to explore the pathogenesis of microbiome-driven neoplasms”; onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/path.5236).

(August 27 to 28, 2018) The 6th World Molecular Pathological Epidemiology Congress in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

(May 31 to June 1, 2018) The 4th International Molecular Pathological Epidemiology (MPE) Meeting in Boston, MA, USA.

(May 17 to 18, 2018) ICMPE 2018: 20th International Conference on Molecular Pathological Epidemiology in Paris, France.

(February 7, 2018) The concept paper on the integrative field of immunology-MPE (immuno-MPE) was published online (Ogino et al. Gut 2018 “Integrative analysis of exogenous, endogenous, tumour and immune factors for precision medicine”; gut.bmj.com/content/67/6/1168.long).

(December 20, 2017) The paper on the integration of the inverse probability weighting (IPW) method into MPE was published online (Liu L et al. Eur J Epidemiol 2018).

(December 6, 2017)  The first comprehensive paper on the “pharmaco-MPE” paradigm (Ogino et al. npj Precis Oncol 2017) was published.

(January 17, 2017) The proceedings of The Third International Molecular Pathological Epidemiology (MPE) Meeting (Campbell PT, et al.) was published online in Cancer Causes and Control (link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10552-016-0845-z).

(October 13, 2016) The first appearance of “microbial MPE” and its concept in the literature (T Hamada, et al. J Gastroenterol).

(May 12 and 13, 2016) The Third International Molecular Pathological Epidemiology (MPE) Meeting was held in Boston, MA, USA with approximately 150 attendees from 17 countries, and 400 accesses to livestreaming.

(March 11, 2016) NCI has made a decision to fund R13 CA203287 (PI, S Ogino) entitled “The Third International Molecular Pathological Epidemiology (MPE) Meeting” which will be held on May 12-13, 2016.

(March 5, 2016) Establishment of the Division of MPE Molecular Pathological Epidemiology in the Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

(February 27, 2016) The first appearance of “immuno-MPE” and “pharmaco-MPE” terms along with their concepts in the literature (S Ogino et al. Epidemiology 2016).

(December 4, 2015) The integrative field of social MPE was first described (A Nishi et al. Expert Rev Mol Diagn – in print likely in 2016).

(October 22, 2015) The first original research article with the molecular pathological epidemiology title appeared in Oncotarget (W Li et al. Oncotarget 2015).

(October 14, 2015) The first editorial with the MPE title (MA Ikram.  Molecular Pathological Epidemiology: the Role of Epidemiology in the Omics-era.  Eur J Epidemiol) on one of MPE concept papers (R Nishihara et al. Eur J Epidemiol) appeared.

(October 7, 2015) The first paper which applies the MPE approach to the causal inference area was published (R Nishihara et al. Molecular pathological epidemiology gives clues to paradoxical findings.  Eur J Epidemiol, online http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10654-015-0088-4).

(August 12, 2015) The first lecture (by Shuji Ogino) on immuno-MPE at AACR Integrative Molecular Epidemiology Workshop in Boston, MA, USA.

(August 10, 2015) A major grant 7-year NCI R35 (Outstanding Investigator Award; PI, Shuji Ogino) to accelerate transdisciplinary MPE integration started.  http://grantome.com/grant/NIH/R35-CA197735-01

(July 23, 2015) The first lecture (by Shuji Ogino) with phamarco-MPE in the title at Drug Discovery & Therapy World Congress 2015 in Boston, MA, USA.

(May 9, 2015) Proceedings of the Second International Molecular Pathological Epidemiology (MPE) Meeting was published online (S Ogino et al.  Cancer Causes and Control).

(March 5, 2015) The first review article with the “Molecular Pathological Epidemiology” title by another investigator was published (C Gao.  Austin J Gastroenterol 2015).

(March 5, 2015) 5th Anniversary of MPE, as 5 years have passed since MPE was introduced as a unique field in the literature on March 5, 2010 (Ogino and Stampfer, JNCI).

(January 15, 2015) The first research paper that integrated cancer immunity analysis into the MPE approach appeared in Gut online (M Song et al.).  This heralded the emergence of the “immuno-MPE field”.

(January 13, 2015) The second paper which mentions “molecular pathologic epidemiology” without quoting previous MPE papers was published (D Weisenberger et al. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2015).

(December 4 & 5, 2014)  “The Second International Molecular Pathological Epidemiology (MPE) Meeting” was held successfully, in Boston, MA, USA.

(December 1, 2014) “The lifecourse-MPE model” (or “the lifecourse epidemiology – MPE model”) first appeared in Am J Prev Med online (A Nishi et al.) (published in print in 2015).

(September 1, 2014) The Genetics and Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer Consortium (GECCO) project (U01; PI, Ulrike Peters) entitled “Molecular Pathological Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer” started its 5-year NIH/NCI funding through August 2019.

(June 13, 2014) “The etiologic field effect model” first appeared in Mod Pathol online (P Lochhead et al.) (published in print in 2015).   This EFE model substantially expands the conventional notion of field effect (first described in 1953), by means of integrating the MPE paradigm.

(February 10, 2014) The article entitled “Molecular pathological epidemiology” first appeared in Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_pathological_epidemiology

(February 6 or 7, 2014) The first documented lecture entitled “molecular pathological epidemiology” outside of the U.S.A. by an independent researcher (Rachel Hanisch) at IARC for the Early Career Scientists Association, in Lyon, France.

(November 4, 2013) The first article on MPE focusing on non-neoplastic diseases was published in JAMA (AE Field et al. “The Merits of Subtyping Obesity: One Size Does Not Fit All”. JAMA 2013).

(October 29, 2013) First symposium on MPE (chaired by Shuji Ogino) (with 4 lectures by Shuji Ogino, Peter T Campbell, Celeste Leigh Pearce, and Lusine Yaghjyan, and a panel discussion) at Twelfth Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, National Harbor, MD, USA.

(June 20, 2013) First lecture on MPE in an international epidemiology meeting (Society for Epidemiologic Research; at The AJE-Sponsored Symposium, chaired by Lewis H Kuller) in Boston, MA, USA.  Symposium proceeding published by Kuller et al. in Am J Epidemiol 2013.

(April 24, 2013) The First International MPE Meeting (closed) was held in Boston, MA, USA.

(January 11, 2013) “The unique disease principle” first appeared in Mod Pathol online (S Ogino et al.).  This integrative principle encompasses “the unique tumor principle” (2012), and forms a conceptual basis of MPE science.

(August 8, 2012) First paper which mentioned “Molecular Pathological Epidemiology” without quoting previous MPE articles (by RJ Jacobs et al. Current Opin Pharmacol 2012;12:690-695).  This was also the first paper that has the term “molecular pathological epidemiology” in Abstract by other investigators.

(July 3, 2012) The first MPE Working Group Meeting was held at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.

(May 16, 2012) “The unique tumour principle” first appeared in Int J Epidemiol online (S Ogino et al.).  This unique tumor principle (UTP) was later elaborated as an integrative concept in S Ogino et al. Expert Rev Mol Diagn 2012.  This UTP has been influencing MPE and influenced by MPE.  The UTP was later expanded to “the unique disease principle” in 2013 (see above).

(May 16, 2012) “The STROBE-MPE guideline” plan first appeared in Int J Epidemiol online (S Ogino et al).  The plan was later published as a more comprehensive form in S Ogino et al. Am J Epidemiol 2012.

(April 12, 2012) First documented lecture on MPE, independently by another investigator (by Dr. Amanda I Phipps) at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

(March 23, 2012) First invited lecture on MPE (by Shuji Ogino) outside of North America at Seoul National University Cancer Hospital 1st Anniversary Symposium, Seoul, South Korea.

(June 3, 2011) First invited lecture on MPE (by Shuji Ogino) outside of the USA at International Symposium on Physiology and Diseases of the Digestive Tract, Orford, QC, Canada.

(October 29, 2010) “The GWAS-MPE approach” first appeared in Gut online (S Ogino et al.) (published in print in 2011).

(October 19, 2010) First invited lecture on MPE (by Shuji Ogino) outside the Harvard community, at The Jackson Laboratory Conference “Colon Cancer in Murine Models and Humans III” (Conference Chairperson, Dr. William F Dove), Bar Harbor, ME, USA.

(March 5, 2010) Ogino and Stampfer (“Lifestyle Factors and Microsatellite Instability in Colorectal Cancer: The Evolving Field of Molecular Pathological Epidemiology” in J Natl Cancer Inst) introduced “Molecular Pathological Epidemiology” as a distinct field in the literature.

(June 9, 2007) The first documented lecture (by Shuji Ogino) that introduced “molecular pathologic epidemiology” at Harvard School of Public Health.