Joseph Fraumeni Jr., MD, a cancer epidemiologist and founding director of the National Cancer Institute’s Division Of Cancer Epidemiology And Genetics, died June 22, according to a July 9 report from The New York Times. He was 93.
Dr. Fraumeni is credited as the founder of molecular epidemiology and is best known for identifying, alongside Frederick Li, MD, a rare hereditary disorder that raises a person’s risk of developing certain cancers at a young age, the Times report said. The condition, known as Li-Fraumeni syndrome, was traced to a mutation in the TP53 gene and marked one of the first instances of an inherited gene being linked to cancer risk, according to the report.
Dr. Fraumeni also led “groundbreaking” research into environmental and lifestyle cancer risks, including development of the U.S. Atlas of Cancer Mortality in the 1970s, which helped identify malignancies tied to arsenic exposure, the report said.
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