The District of Columbia (D.C.) has the highest liver cancer incidence in the United States (U.S.), but the reasons for this are not fully known. We examined socio-demographic, clinical and behavioral characteristics of incident liver cancer cases in D.C., Maryland (MD) and Virginia (VA) to identify potential risk factors. We obtained data from D.C., MD and VA cancer registries for individuals diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) between 2013 and 2016. We estimated age-adjusted incidence rates and conducted descriptive analyses stratified by state/territory, sex, stage at diagnosis, and race/ethnicity. 5,928 incident HCC/ICC cases occurred between 2013-2016. Age-adjusted incidence rates (per 100,000) for HCC/ICC were highest in D.C. (12.2, 95% CI=10.9, 13.5), for males (12.6, 95% CI=12.2, 12.9), and non-Hispanic Blacks (11.3, 95% CI=10.8, 11.8) and Asian/Pacific Islanders (APIs) (10.8, 95% CI=9.7, 11.9). Racial disparities in HCC/ICC incidence were widest in D.C. A substantial proportion of cases were missing data on country of birth and behavioral risk factors. Mean age at diagnosis, marital status, country of birth, insurance status, and alcohol and tobacco use history varied across analytic sub-groups. Non-Hispanic Blacks, APIs and males experience a high burden of liver cancer in the D.C. metropolitan area. There are several socio-demographic disparities by state/territory, sex, and race/ethnicity. More data on country of birth, behavioral risk factors, and comorbidities are urgently needed to understand their contribution to the burden of liver cancer in the D.C. metropolitan area.
The first International Conference on Cancer Health Disparities (ICCHD) was held on August 13-14, 2021, in Harlingen, TX, USA. This two-day ICCHD-2021 was organized by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, School of Medicine (UTRGV-SOM). About 200 national and international delegates from 10 countries attended this hybrid meeting in person and through online digital platforms. The event delegates were representatives from National Institutes of Health (NIH), Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), and the City of Harlingen, in addition to clinicians, faculty, researchers, scientists, bioinformaticians, geneticists, bioethicists, and others. Under the theme of Cancer Health Disparities, this event featured a number of special talks and showcased the work done by researchers from a broad array of disciplines (academia, community, and health care) to identify gaps and/or solutions to multi-faceted heath and health disparity issues impacting minority and underserved populations across the country and worldwide. The conference was comprised of six sessions: Session 1: Introduction to the conference and tackling cancer health disparities; Session 2: Elimination of cancer health disparities; Session 3: Cancer cellular and molecular biology; Session 4: Diversity and Inclusion in cancer research: Session 5: Poster and oral presentations, and Early career investigator talks; Session 6: An award ceremony and closing remarks. This conference report summarizes the meeting's content, discussions, and conclusions.
Lung cancer has the highest cancer-related mortality worldwide and in the United States. Although reduced tobacco consumption and advancement in therapies have led to a modest decline in lung cancer death rates over the past two decades; the overall survival rate is still disappointing. Moreover, race-associated disparities are also observed, especially in the clinical outcomes. Socioeconomic factors are considered major contributors in cancer health disparities, however, the differences in the genetic landscape of lung cancer among different racial groups have also been reported. In this review, we shed light on the genetic heterogeneity of lung cancer and race-associated differences in genetic alterations to build a framework for future studies to understand the biological basis of lung cancer disparities.
Over the years, we have made considerable progress in our understanding of the biology of various cancers leading to advancements in their management strategies. Consequently, we have witnessed steady improvements in survival rates of cancer patients post-diagnosis. The progress; however, has been slow for some cancer types and the advances in cancer care have not benefited all the communities equally in the United States. The state of Alabama has one of the most diverse demographics in the country and as a result, we witness significant health disparities among our populations. Breast and cervical cancers are the two major cancer types that disparately affect the women in our state. Here, we describe the extent of disparities in the diagnosis and death rates from these cancers in the state of Alabama and discuss potential underlying causes affecting the health outcomes. We also discuss ongoing efforts undertaken to reduce the disparity gaps and provide a perspective for addressing these disparities more effectively.
Disparities in cancer incidence and outcome are common among the racial and ethnical minorities in the United States and are of significant social and clinical concern. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed non-cutaneous malignancy in American men and exhibits substantial racial disparities with African American men bearing the highest burden in terms of incidence and mortality. A multitude of factors, including socioeconomic, behavioral, and access to healthcare, have been implicated as the underlying causes of such disparities. More recent data also suggest that there are inherent molecular and biological differences in prostate tumors of patients having distinct racial backgrounds. Tumor microenvironment has tremendous impact on the course of cancer progression and clinical outcome and may also contribute to the racial disparities observed in prostate cancer. Therefore, a better understanding of critical differences in the tumor microenvironment components may provide newer directions to study the biological causes of prostate cancer health disparities and may identify novel therapeutic targets. This review discusses the findings related to the tumor microenvironment differences between African American and Caucasian American prostate cancer patients and makes suggestion regarding their potential significance in prostate cancer disparities.
Cancer trends over a two-decade period show a greater reduction in cancer mortality rates for non-Hispanic Whites than for Native Americans. The Partnership for Native American Cancer Prevention (NACP) was established to address cancer health disparities that impact Native Americans. The partners are Northern Arizona University, the University of Arizona Cancer Center, Arizona's tribal communities and the National Cancer Institute. The activities include outreach, research and cancer education. Overall, NACP seeks to expand capacity for culturally-sensitive and community-relevant research on cancer, and to continue developing respectful collaborations that will empower sovereign Native American communities to define, implement, and achieve their goals for cancer health equity.
Community health advisor (CHA) interventions increase colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates. African Americans experience CRC disparities in incidence and mortality rates compared to whites in the US. Focus groups and learner verification were used to adapt National Cancer Institute CRC screening educational materials for delivery by a CHA to African American community health center patients. Such academic-community collaboration improves adoption of evidence-based interventions. This short article describes the adaptation of an evidence-based cancer education intervention for implementation in an African American community.
Diseases of the pancreas (i.e. chronic pancreatitis, diabetes, and pancreatic cancer) disproportionally affect the African American community. Challenges associated with engaging the African American community in biospecimen research are longstanding. We surveyed a number of pancreas-related biobanks, and data repositories for African American representation. While some of the biobanks and databases surveyed contain biospecimens and data from African American donors at levels that reflect minority representation among the general population, others do not. A number of factors have historically contributed to reduced participation of the African Americans community in biospecimen donation including medical mistrust, lack of transparency, fear, and a poor knowledge and understanding about the use of biospecimens for research. Suggestions for increasing African American participation in organ and biospecimen donation include educational interventions, particularly in community groups, and providing printed and online recruitment materials to patients, patient advocates, and care partners. Increasing awareness of the many benefits of biospecimen donation among African Americans will positively affect health disparities research into pancreatic cancer and other diseases.
Diseases of the pancreas (i.e. chronic pancreatitis, diabetes, and pancreatic cancer) disproportionally affect the African American community. Challenges associated with engaging the African American community in biospecimen research are longstanding. We surveyed a number of pancreas-related biobanks, and data repositories for African American representation. While some of the biobanks and databases surveyed contain biospecimens and data from African American donors at levels that reflect minority representation among the general population, others do not. A number of factors have historically contributed to reduced participation of the African Americans community in biospecimen donation including medical mistrust, lack of transparency, fear, and a poor knowledge and understanding about the use of biospecimens for research. Suggestions for increasing African American participation in organ and biospecimen donation include educational interventions, particularly in community groups, and providing printed and online recruitment materials to patients, patient advocates, and care partners. Increasing awareness of the many benefits of biospecimen donation among African Americans will positively affect health disparities research into pancreatic cancer and other diseases.
