Clinical Interests

Colon cancer, polyps, cancer epidemiology

Research Interests

Dr. Sandler’s primary research focus is colon cancer etiology, screening and prevention. He is the principal investigator of the North Carolina Colon Cancer Study, a population-based study exploring environmental, lifestyle and medical factors that might explain diverging black-white incidence and mortality trends for colorectal cancer. He is the principal investigator for the North Carolina Colorectal Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance (CanCORS) study, an NCI-funded initiative to investigate the impact of processes of cancer care on outcomes. The UNC CanCORS project is investigating the impact of genetic characteristics of the tumor on prognosis and response to therapy. He has been an investigator on several multi-center cooperative trials of agents to prevent neoplastic colon polyps. He is the principal investigator on a study that is evaluating obesity, inflammation and the risk of colorectal adenomas using questionnaire and biological specimens collected from colonoscopy patients at UNC Hospitals. He directs a training program in digestive disease epidemiology.

Link to a list of publications on PubMed.