Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty Member

Anna Maria Chiarelli PhD, MHSc

Research Interests

• Effectiveness of population based cancer screening
• Effectiveness of breast screening in high risk populations
• Clinical and psychological effects on delays on breast cancer diagnosis
• Physician and women barriers to breast cancer screening
• Individualized breast screening and breast cancer risk stratification tools

Education & Training History

1991-1997 Doctor of Philosophy (Epidemiology), University of Toronto

1982-1984 Masters in Health Science (Community Health and Epidemiology), University of Toronto

1978-1982 Bachelor of Science, University of Toronto

Other Affiliations

• Senior Scientist, Prevention and Cancer Control, Cancer Care Ontario
• Provincial Lead Scientist, Ontario Breast Screening Program, Cancer Care Ontario

Primary Teaching Responsibilities

• Co-Director, Cancer Epidemiology (CHL 5409H), DLSPH, University of Toronto

Professional Summary & Appointments

My current research program focuses on studying the effectiveness of breast cancer screening tests, breast screening in high risk women, and the clinical effects of delays on diagnosis. Future areas of interest include examining the effectiveness of individualized breast screening and improvement in breast cancer risk stratification tools.

Committee Memberships

Advisory Committee, Assessment of International Mammography Screening Skills (AIMSS), International Cancer Screening Network

Monitoring and Evaluation Working Group, Canadian Breast Cancer Screening Initiative, Canadian Partnership Against Cancer

Honours & Awards

• First Prize Poster Award, International Cancer Screening Network Meeting, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, June 2015
• ACE (Achievement, Commitment, Excellence) Award for Cross Functional teams 2011-2012, “Expansion of the Ontario Breast Cancer Screening Programs to women at high risk of breast cancers”, Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Ontario, Canada
• ACE (Achievement, Commitment, Excellence) Award for Cross Functional Teams 2013-2014, “Computed Radiography (CR) Mammography Replacement Project”, Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Ontario, Canada
• Graduate Student Prize Paper Award / Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, June 1997

Current Research Projects

• 2015-2018: Screening outcomes and cost-effectiveness of personalized breast cancer screening among women within an organized breast screening program. CBCF funded (Principal Investigator)
• 2013-2016: Evaluating the effectiveness of organized breast assessment among women screened in the Ontario Breast Screening Program. CIHR funded (Principal Investigator).
• 2013-2017: Personalized risk stratification for breast cancer screening and risk-reduction interventions. Genome Canada/Genome Quebec/ CIHR funded (Co-Investigator).
• 2012-2015: Mammographic density and risk of contralateral breast cancer. NIH USA funded (Co-Investigator).
• 2010-2014: The benefits of digital compared to screen film mammography in concurrent cohorts within an organized breast screening program. CIHR funded (Principal Investigator).

 SELECTED publications

• Chiarelli AM, Prummel MV, Muradali D, Shumak RS, Majpruz V, Brown P, Jiang H, Done SJ, Yaffe MJ. Digital versus screen-film mammography: impact of mammographic density and hormone therapy on breast cancer detection. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2015 Nov; 154(2):377-87. doi: 10.1007/s10549-015-3622-x. Epub 2015 Oct 30. PMID: 26518019
• Prummel MV, Muradali D, Shumak RS, Majpruz V, Brown P, Jiang H, , Done SJ, Yaffe MJ, Chiarelli AM. Digital compared with screen-film mammography: measures of diagnostic accuracy among women screened in the Ontario Breast Screening Program. Radiology. 2016 Feb; 278 (2):365-73. doi10.1148/radiol.2015150733. Epub 2015 Sep 2. PMID: 26334680
• Prummel MV, Done SJ, Muradali D, Majpruz V, Brown P, Jiang H, Shumak RS, Yaffe MJ, Holloway CMB, Chiarelli AM. Digital compared to screen-film mammography: Breast cancer prognostic features in an organized screening program. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 2014 Sep;147 (2):389-99. doi: 10.1007/s10549-014-3088-2. PMID: 25108740
• Walker MJ, Mirea L, Glendon G, Ritvo P, Andrulis IL, Knight JA, Chiarelli AM. Does perceived risk predict breast cancer screening use? Findings from a prospective cohort study of female relatives from the Ontario site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry. The Breast 2014 Aug; 23: 482-488. DOI: 10.1016/ j.breast.2014.04.001. PMID: 24821458
• Chiarelli AM, Prummel MV, Muradali D, Majpruz V, Horgan M, Carroll JC, Eisen A, Meschino WS, Shumak RS, Warner E, Rabeneck L. Effectiveness of screening with annual magnetic resonance imaging and mammography: Results of the initial screen from the Ontario High Risk Breast Screening Program. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2014 Jul 20; 32(21):2224-30. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2013.52.8331. PMID: 24934793
• Chiarelli AM, Edwards SA, Prummel MV, Muradali D, Majpruz V, Done SJ, Brown P, Shumak RS, Yaffe MJ. Digital compared with screen-film mammography: Performance measures in concurrent cohorts within an organized breast screening program.  Radiology 2013 Sept; 268(3):684-693. PMID: 23674784
• Walker MJ, Chiarelli AM, Knight JA, Mirea L, Glendon G, Ritvo P. Perceived risk and adherence to breast cancer screening guidelines among women with a familial history of breast cancer: a review of the literature. The Breast 2013 Aug; 22(4):395-404, doi:10.1016/j.breast.2012.12.005 PMID: 23313062
• Chiarelli AM, Edwards SA, Sheppard AJ, Mirea L, Chong N, Paszat L, Shumak RS, O’Malley FP; the Breast Screening Study Group. Favourable prognostic factors of subsequent screen-detected breast cancers among women aged 50 to 69. European Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Nov; 21:499-506, PMID: 22273849
• Quan ML, Shumak RS, Majpruz V, Holloway C, O’Malley FP, Chiarelli AM. Improving work up of the abnormal mammogram through organized assessment: Results from the Ontario Breast Screening Program. Journal of Oncology Practice 2012 Mar; 8(2):107-112, doi: 10.1200/JOP.2011.000413. PMID: 23077438
• Sheppard AJ, Chiarelli AM, Marrett LD, Nishri ED, Trudeau ME. Stage at diagnosis and comorbidity influence breast cancer survival in First Nations women in Ontario, Canada. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention 2011 Oct; 20 (10):2160-2167, PMID: 21803843
• Kirsh VA, Chiarelli AM, Edwards SA, O’Malley FP, Shumak RS, Yaffe MJ, Boyd NF. Tumour characteristics associated with mammographic detection of breast cancer in the Ontario Breast Screening Program. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2011 Jun; 103(12):942-950. PMID: 21540443
• Chiarelli AM, Majpruz V, Brown P, Theriault M, Edwards S, Shumak R, Mai V. Influence of nurses on compliance with breast screening recommendations in an organized screening program. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention; 2010 Mar; 19 (3); 697-706. PMID: 20160262
• Chiarelli AM, Majpruz V, Brown P, Theriault M, Shumak R, Mai V. The contribution of clinical breast examination to the accuracy of breast screening. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2009 Sept 16; 101 (18):1236-1243. PMID: 19720967
• Chiarelli AM, Kirsh VA, Klar NS, Shumak R, Jong R, Fishell E, Yaffe MJ, Boyd NF. Influence of patterns of hormone replacement therapy use and mammographic density on breast cancer detection. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention 2006 Oct; 15(10):1856-1862. PMID: 17035392