Cancer in Minority Communities

Public Health Series:

Cancer in Minority Communities

The Coronavirus pandemic has brought into sharp relief the issues of health disparities and differences in health outcome between Blacks/African Americans, and the general US population. It has produced greater burdens in disease and economic outcomes for minority communities, when compared with others. This is not a new trend; it is a longstanding issue observed across many disease spectrums. Cancer has marked disparities between Blacks and others with respect to disease management and survival.

Cancer health disparity is an issue at the heart of national cancer reduction strategies. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has made eliminating health disparities an essential characteristic of grant funding that it allocates to cancer centers. The NCI assesses cancer centers on their ability to positively impact the communities they serve. The Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa is one of the few free standing comprehensive cancer centers in the country and the only comprehensive cancer center in Florida. It strives to address community needs by promoting innovative research, outreach, and education across cancer disease and management. It works with pioneering foundations such as the George Edgecomb Society. The Moffitt Center created this foundation to address the issues surrounding cancer health disparities by ensuring equitable health outcomes and elimination of cancer disparities among Blacks and African Americans.

Together with the George Edgecomb Society, the Moffitt Center aims to:

*Address the issue of low Black and African American participation in clinical trials.

*Develop programs to address the challenges of reaching Blacks and African Americans, through outreach and education.

*Build partnerships between Moffitt and local communities to increase outreach and education.

*Develop and nurture Black and African American scientists and researchers with expertise in cancer biology and disease management.

*Bridge the gap between research and academic expertise in cancer, and local advocacy in Black communities.

*Build support for advocacy and self-efficacy among Blacks and African Americans regarding cancer care.

We will review cancer disparities in disease outcome across three cancer subtypes: Prostate, ovarian, and lung cancers. We will present a generalized overview of disparities by race, across these cancer types. Disparities in cancer disease management and outcome is a complex topic with many intersecting variables. For a deeper review of the topic, visit www.cancer.org, www.cancer.gov, or any journal on cancer health disparity.