Dr. Marcia Roxana Cruz Correa leads a Gastrointestinal Oncology Program at the UPR Cancer Center, which is integrated by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, basic and clinical scientists, and epidemiologists with expertise in gastrointestinal cancer.

The main focus of the program is to elucidate genetic and epigenetic pathways for colorectal carcinogenesis among Hispanic patients. Evaluation of environmental and nutritional factors as effect-modifiers and gene-environmental interactions is an active investigative priority.

Dr. Marcia Roxana Cruz Correa and her team developed the first population-based familial colorectal cancer registry in Puerto Rico that currently has more than 500 colorectal cancer patients with detailed epidemiological and environmental information. A second research area is chemoprevention.

Dr. Cruz-Correa leads an NCI-sponsored clinical trial evaluating the role of bioflavonoids (curcumin) as a chemopreventive agent in adult patients with Familial Adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and is a co-investigator evaluating the use of celecoxib in pediatric patients with FAP.

She is also working as Principal Investigator of Hispanic Alliance for Clinical and Translational Research (Alliance), Puerto Rico

Marcia Cruz-Correa, MD, PhD | AACR Women in Cancer Research | Constituency Groups