|
National Minority Cancer Awareness Month
Every April, The Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health observes National Minority Health Month (NMHM) to raise awareness of the importance of improving the health of racial and ethnic minority populations and reducing health disparities. Concerning cancer health disparities, April is also National Minority Cancer Awareness Month. Cancer health disparities disproportionately affect minority populations across the United States and globally. Research indicates that differences in cancer burden are evident by geography, race/ethnicity, genetic ancestry, immigration status, culture, gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic class. For example, patients from diverse backgrounds with low socioeconomic status may have living conditions that increase their cancer risk and cannot afford quality cancer care.
According to the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, clinical trial participation is crucial in reducing cancer health disparities among individuals from racial and ethnic backgrounds. Research has shown that diversity and inclusion are essential to minimize bias, promote social justice and health equity, and provide a better understanding of diseases and effective treatment options across racial and ethnic populations. Understanding cancer health disparities among minority populations can help clinical researchers and healthcare providers assess and address barriers to research participation, thus, leading to designing trials to improve cancer health outcomes and applying a health equity lens to the implementation of recruitment and screening.
One of our aims as an NCORP is to promote the participation of African Americans and other underrepresented groups in our catchment area in NCI Clinical Trials through community engagement and patient support programs. Additionally, assessing and addressing barriers to research participation and accruing patients to trials that improve cancer-related health among individuals from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds exemplifies our dedication to addressing health equity gaps in cancer research representation and survivorship.
Upstate Carolina NCORP would like to highlight studies that we participate in that emphasize increasing minority participation!
-
URCC-21038: Disparities in Results of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Treatment (DiRECT): A Prospective Cohort Study of Cancer Survivors Treated with anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 Immunotherapy in a Community Oncology Setting
-
Primary Objective: To compare incidence of CTCAE grade 2-5 irAEs between African American and European American patients within the first year of starting ICI treatment.
-
UC-NCORP Accruals - 61 Patients: 52 White & 9 Black
-
NCI 10323: Cancer Moonshot Biobank Research Protocol
-
Primary Objective: To support current and future investigations into drug resistance and sensitivity and other NCI-sponsored cancer research initiatives through the procurement and distribution of multiple longitudinal biospecimens and associated data from a diverse group of cancer patients who are undergoing standard of care treatment at NCORP sites.
-
UC-NCORP Accruals - 37 Patients: 17 White & 20 Black
-
Wake Forest 1802: Influence of Primary Treatment for Prostate Cancer on Work Experience (PCW)
-
Primary Objective: Compare changes in work ability reported by African American and white prostate cancer survivors, before treatment and 6 months after treatment completion.
-
UC-NCORP Accruals - 57 Patients: 27 White & 30 Black
| 
