Kathleen F. Arcaro

Professor of Environmental Toxicology

Graduate Program Director, Animal Biotechnology & Biomedical Sciences (ABBS)

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Office phone: 413-577-1823

Email: karcaro [at] umass [dot] edu

Office location: N529 LSL

Mailing address:

University of Massachusetts
240 Thatcher Road
LSL 1 Room N529
Amherst, MA 01003-9298

Breast milk research web page

Ph.D.: Rutgers University, 1987
Postdoctoral Training:
University at Albany
Wadsworth Laboratories,
New York State Department of Health

Awards: CNRE Achievement Award for Outstanding Teaching

Classes:
ANIMLSCI 386 - Veterinary Oncology Laboratory

Research Interests
Selected Publications
Lab Personnel

Breast Cancer

Assessing Individual Breast Cancer Risk

The vast majority of breast cancers are sporadic, yet current risk assessment tools do not identify individual risk. A major goal of the research in the Arcaro lab is to develop tools for assessing individual breast cancer risk. To this end, we study breastmilk. Human milk contains multiple cell types, including epithelial cells from the lining of the ducts and lobules. Because cancer-related DNA methylation may occur decades before disease diagnosis, we are interested in determining the extent to which DNA methylation patterns in the sloughed epithelial cells can inform future breast cancer risk. Accurately assessing individual risk would provide women the opportunity to make informed decisions regarding preventative treatments.

Narayanaswamy V, Pentecost B, Alfandari D, Chin E, Minor K, Kastrinakis A, Lieberman T, Arcaro KF, Leftwich H. 2021. Humoral and Cell-Mediated Immune Response in Colostrum from Women Diagnosed Positive for SARS-CoV-2. Breastfeeding Medicine.

Dunphy KA, Black AL, Roberts AL, Sharma A, Li Z, Suresh S, Browne EP, Arcaro KF, Ser-Dolansky J, Bigelow C et al.. 2020. Inter-Individual Variation in Response to Estrogen in Human Breast Explants. Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia. 25:51–68.

Muse ME, Titus AJ, Salas LA, Wilkins OM, Mullen C, Gregory KJ, Schneider SS, Crisi GM, M Jawale R, Otis CN et al.. 2020. Enrichment of CpG island shore region hypermethylation in epigenetic breast field cancerization. Epigenetics. 15:1093–1106.

Zhao B, Gao J, Serrano MAC, Arcaro KF, Thayumanavan S, Vachet RW. 2020. Polymeric nanoassemblies for enrichment and detection of peptides and proteins in human breast milk. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. 412:1027–1035.

Cicekdal MB, Kazan BT, Tuna BG, Ozorhan U, Ekici ID, Zhu F, Suakar O, Kuskucu A, Bayrak OF, Arcaro K et al.. 2020. Effects of Two Types of Calorie Restriction on Methylation Levels of Adiponectin Receptor 1 (AdipoR1) and Leptin Receptor Overlapping Transcript (Leprot) in a MMTV-TGF-a Breast Cancer Mouse Model. British Journal of Nutrition. 123:1079–1079.

Salas LA, Lundgren SN, Browne EP, Punska EC, Anderton DL, Karagas MR, Arcaro KF, Christensen BC. 2020. Prediagnostic breast milk DNA methylation alterations in women who develop breast cancer. Human Molecular Genetics. 29:662–673.

Aslebagh R, Channaveerappa D, Arcaro KF, Darie CC. 2018. Proteomics analysis of human breast milk to assess breast cancer risk. ELECTROPHORESIS. 39:653–665.

Aslebagh R, Channaveerappa D, Arcaro KF, Darie CC. 2018. Comparative two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) of human milk to identify dysregulated proteins in breast cancer. 39:1723–1734.

Zimmers SM, Browne EP, Williams KE, M Jawale R, Otis CN, Schneider SS, Arcaro KF. 2018. TROP2 methylation and expression in tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer. Cancer Cell International. 18

Murphy J, Pfeiffer RM, Lynn BDC, Caballero AI, Browne EP, Punska EC, Yang HP, Falk RT, Anderton DL, Gierach GL et al.. 2018. Pro-inflammatory cytokines and growth factors in human milk: an exploratory analysis of racial differences to inform breast cancer etiology. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

Essa AR, Browne EP, Punska EC, Perkins K, Boudreau E, Wiggins H, Anderton DL, Sibeko L, Sturgeon SR, Arcaro KF. 2018. Dietary Intervention to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Breastfeeding Women: A Pilot Randomized Trial Measuring Inflammatory Markers in Breast Milk. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Williams KE, M Jawale R, Schneider SS, Otis CN, Pentecost BT, Arcaro KF. 2018. DNA methylation in breast cancers: Differences based on estrogen receptor status and recurrence. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry.

Jastrow A, Gordon DA, Auger KM, Punska EC, Arcaro KF, Keteles K, Winkelman D, Lattier D, Biales A, Lazorchak JM. 2017. Tools to minimize interlaboratory variability in vitellogenin gene expression monitoring programs. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 36:3102–3107.

Chopra-Tandon N, Wu H, Arcaro KF, Sturgeon SR. 2017. Relationships between Global DNA Methylation in Circulating White Blood Cells and Breast Cancer Risk Factors. Journal of Cancer Epidemiology. 2017:1–25.

Kalasin S, Browne EP, Arcaro KF, Santore M M. 2017. Selective Adhesive Cell Capture without Molecular Specificity: New Surfaces Exploiting Nanoscopic Polycationic Features as Discrete Adhesive Units. RSC Adv.. 7:13416–13425.

Sturgeon SR, Pilsner RJ, Arcaro KF, Ikuma K, Wu H, Kim S-M, Chopra-Tandon N, Karpf AR, Ziegler RG, Schairer C et al.. 2017. White blood cell DNA methylation and risk of breast cancer in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO). Breast Cancer Research. 19

Murphy J, Sherman ME, Browne EP, Caballero AI, Punska EC, Pfeiffer RM, Yang HP, Lee M, Yang H, Gierach GL et al.. 2016. Potential of breastmilk analysis to inform early events in breast carcinogenesis: rationale and considerations.. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 157(1):13-22.

Fitzgerald LM, Browne EP, Christie KD, Punska EC, Simmons LO, Williams KE, Pentecost BT, M Jawale R, Otis CN, Arcaro KF. 2016. ELF5 and DOK7 regulation in anti-estrogen treated cells and tumors.. Cancer Cell Int. 16:8.

Brown SB, Hankinson SE, Arcaro KF, Qian J, Reeves KW. 2016. Depression, Antidepressant Use, and Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risk.. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 25(1):158-64.

Yang HP, Schneider SS, Chisholm CM, Browne EP, Mahmood S, Gierach GL, Lenington S, Anderton DL, Sherman ME, Arcaro KF. 2015. Association of TGF-β2 levels in breast milk with severity of breast biopsy diagnosis.. Cancer Causes Control. 26(3):345-54.

Brown SB, Hankinson SE, Eliassen HA, Reeves KW, Qian J, Arcaro KF, Wegrzyn LR, Willett WC, Schernhammer ES. 2015. Urinary melatonin concentration and the risk of breast cancer in Nurses' Health Study II.. Am J Epidemiol. 181(3):155-62.

Chen X, Liu L, Mims J, Punska EC, Williams KE, Zhao W, Arcaro KF, Tsang AW, Zhou X, Furdui CM. 2015. Analysis of DNA methylation and gene expression in radiation-resistant head and neck tumors.. Epigenetics. 10(6):545-61.

Williams KE, Anderton DL, Lee MP, Pentecost BT, Arcaro KF. 2014. High-density array analysis of DNA methylation in tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cell lines.. Epigenetics. 9(2)

Browne EP, Dinc SE, Punska EC, Agus S, Vitrinel A, Erdag GC, Anderton DL, Arcaro KF, Yilmaz B. 2014. Promoter Methylation in Epithelial-Enriched and Epithelial-Depleted Cell Populations Isolated from Breast Milk.. J Hum Lact.

Schneider SS, Aslebagh R, Wetie ANG, Sturgeon SR, Darie CC, Arcaro KF. 2014. Using breast milk to assess breast cancer risk: the role of mass spectrometry-based proteomics.. Adv Exp Med Biol. 806:399-408.

Sturgeon SR, Arcaro KF, Johnson MA, Balasubramanian R, Zorn M, Jerry JD, Schneider SS. 2014. DNA methylation in paired breast epithelial and white blood cells from women undergoing reduction mammoplasty.. Anticancer Res. 34(6):2985-90.

Zimmers SM, Browne EP, O'Keefe PW, Anderton DL, Kramer L, Reckhow DA, Arcaro KF. 2014. Determination of free Bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations in breast milk of U.S. women using a sensitive LC/MS/MS method.. Chemosphere. 104:237-43.

Fagan-Solis KD, Pentecost BT, Gozgit JM, Bentley BA, Marconi SM, Otis CN, Anderton DL, Schneider SS, Arcaro KF. 2014. SKP2 overexpression is associated with increased serine 10 phosphorylation of p27 (pSer10p27) in triple-negative breast cancer.. J Cell Physiol. 229(9):1160-9.

Nartey T, Moran H, Marin T, Arcaro KF, Anderton DL, Etkind P, Holland JF, Melana SM, Pogo BG-T. 2014. Human Mammary Tumor Virus (HMTV) sequences in human milk.. Infect Agent Cancer. 9:20.

Patel AL, Chen X, Wood ST, Stuart ES, Arcaro KF, Molina DP, Petrovic S, Furdui CM, Tsang AW. 2014. Activation of epidermal growth factor receptor is required for Chlamydia trachomatis development.. BMC Microbiol. 14(1):277.

Faupel-Badger JM, Arcaro KF, Balkam JJ, Eliassen HA, Hassiotou F, Lebrilla CB, Michels KB, Palmer JR, Schedin P, Stuebe AM et al.. 2013. Postpartum Remodeling, Lactation, and Breast Cancer Risk: Summary of a National Cancer Institute-Sponsored Workshop.. J Natl Cancer Inst.

Fagan-Solis KD, Schneider SS, Pentecost BT, Bentley BA, Otis CN, Gierthy JF, Arcaro KF. 2013. The ras homolog gene family, member A (RhoA) pathway mediates MMP-2 and MMP-9-independent invasive behavior in a triple-negative breast cancer cell line.. J Cell Biochem.

Turk CM, Fagan-Solis KD, Williams KE, Gozgit JM, Smith-Schneider S, Marconi SA, Otis CN, Crisi GM, Anderton DL, Kilimann MW et al.. 2012. Paralemmin-1 is over-expressed in estrogen-receptor positive breast cancers.. Cancer cell international. 12(1):17.

Qin W, Zhang K, Kliethermes B, Ruhlen RL, Browne EP, Arcaro KF, Sauter ER. 2012. Differential expression of cancer associated proteins in breast milk based on age at first full term pregnancy.. BMC cancer. 12:100.

Sturgeon SR, Balasubramanian R, Schairer C, Muss HB, Ziegler RG, Arcaro KF. 2012. Detection of promoter methylation of tumor suppressor genes in serum DNA of breast cancer cases and benign breast disease controls.. Epigenetics : official journal of the DNA Methylation Society. 7(11):1258-67.

Arcaro KF, Browne EP, Qin W, Zhang K, Anderton DL, Sauter ER. 2012. Differential expression of cancer-related proteins in paired breast milk samples from women with breast cancer.. Journal of human lactation : official journal of International Lactation Consultant Association. 28(4):543-6.

Browne EP, Punska EC, Lenington S, Otis CN, Anderton DL, Arcaro KF. 2011. Increased promoter methylation in exfoliated breast epithelial cells in women with a previous breast biopsy.. Epigenetics : official journal of the DNA Methylation Society. 6(12):1425-35.

Zhu Z-J, Carboni R, Quercio MJ, Yan B, Miranda OR, Anderton DL, Arcaro KF, Rotello VM, Vachet RW. 2010. Surface properties dictate uptake, distribution, excretion, and toxicity of nanoparticles in fish.. Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany). 6(20):2261-5.

Chompoosor A, Saha K, Ghosh PS, Macarthy DJ, Miranda OR, Zhu Z-J, Arcaro KF, Rotello VM. 2010. The role of surface functionality on acute cytotoxicity, ROS generation and DNA damage by cationic gold nanoparticles.. Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany). 6(20):2246-9.

Wong CM, Anderton DL, Smith-Schneider S, Wing MA, Greven MC, Arcaro KF. 2010. Quantitative analysis of promoter methylation in exfoliated epithelial cells isolated from breast milk of healthy women.. Epigenetics : official journal of the DNA Methylation Society. 5(7):645-55.

Moffatt LT, May CL, Studer KE, Reckhow DA, Arcaro KF. 2010. Effects of exposure water volume, depuration time, and feeding status on vitellogenin mRNA induction in male medaka (Oryzias latipes) exposed to 17 β-estradiol.. Ecotoxicology and environmental safety. 73(8):1835-41.

Tao L, Kannan K, Wong CM, Arcaro KF, Butenhoff JL. 2008. Perfluorinated compounds in human milk from Massachusetts, U.S.A.. Environmental science & technology. 42(8):3096-101.

Gozgit JM, Pentecost BT, Marconi SA, Ricketts-Loriaux RSJ, Otis CN, Arcaro KF. 2007. PLD1 is overexpressed in an ER-negative MCF-7 cell line variant and a subset of phospho-Akt-negative breast carcinomas.. British journal of cancer. 97(6):809-17.

Johnson-Restrepo B, Addink R, Wong C, Arcaro K, Kannan K. 2007. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers and organochlorine pesticides in human breast milk from Massachusetts, USA.. Journal of environmental monitoring : JEM. 9(11):1205-12.

Reiner JL, Wong CM, Arcaro KF, Kannan K. 2007. Synthetic musk fragrances in human milk from the United States.. Environmental science & technology. 41(11):3815-20.

Gozgit JM, Pentecost BT, Marconi SA, Otis CN, Wu C, Arcaro KF. 2006. Use of an aggressive MCF-7 cell line variant, TMX2-28, to study cell invasion in breast cancer.. Molecular cancer research : MCR. 4(12):905-13.

Gozgit JM, Nestor KM, Fasco MJ, Pentecost BT, Arcaro KF. 2004. Differential action of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on endogenous estrogen-responsive genes and on a transfected estrogen-responsive reporter in MCF-7 cells.. Toxicology and applied pharmacology. 196(1):58-67.

Arcaro KF, Wang J, Otis CN, Zuckerman BM. 2004. Beta-galactosidase and alpha-mannosidase inhibit formation of multicellular nodules in breast cancer cell cultures.. Anticancer research. 24(1):139-44.

Name	Email	Phone	Office
Narayanaswamy , Vignesh ABBS Ph.D Candidate	vnarayanaswa [at] umass [dot] edu	413-545-0813	LSL 540D
Browne , Eva Research Associate	ebrowne [at] vasci [dot] umass [dot] edu	413-545-0813	LSL N261
Taylor , Rachel Undergraduate student	rytaylor [at] umass [dot] edu		LSL N540D
Baker , Ryan Undergraduate student research assistant	rlbaker [at] umass [dot] edu	413-545-0813	LSL N261
McNally , Liana Undergraduate student research assistant	lhmcnally [at] umass [dot] edu	413- 545-0813	LSL N261
Nodiff , Sam Undergraduate student research assistant	snodiff [at] umass [dot] edu	413-545-0813	LSL N261