CANCER DISPARITIES NEWS DIGEST (03.30.07)
CRCHD Announcements
Save the Date! Cancer Disparities Summit 2007
National Cancer Institute Cancer Health Disparities Summit 2007:
Catalyzing Trans-disciplinary Regional Partnerships to Eliminate Cancer Health Disparities
July 16-18, 2007
Bethesda North Marriott Conference Center and Hotel
Bethesda, MD
Updates on the Summit will soon be posted at http://crchd.cancer.gov
News from NCI, NIH, and other Federal Agencies
Free Playback Available: How the Patient Navigator Program Helps Cancer Patients
On Wednesday, March 7, 2007 the Program Director of the Patient Navigator Research Program (PNRP) at CRCHD, Dr. Roland Garcia, explained NCI’s PNRP and how it can help cancer patients. In addition, Dr. Beth Calhoun, Co-principal Investigator for the Patient Navigator Research Program in Chicago, described the population she works with in Chicago, as well as the grant structure of the PNRP, and how best to access community health networks. Through April 7, 2007 toll-free playback will be available at 1-800-873-2035.
http://ola.cancer.gov
New NCI Cancer Health Disparities Portal Launched
Overcoming cancer health disparities is essential in our aim to lessen the burden of cancer. NCI supports research to identify and understand the factors that contribute to cancer disparities. To highlight NCI’s efforts to reduce and ultimately eliminate these disparities, the Office of Communications and Education has recently developed a portal page which can be viewed at:
http://www.cancer.gov/health-disparities
See Related Article
Cancer News From the Field
NCI Grantee Spotlights
Racial, Cultural, and Ethnic Factors Affecting the Quality of End-of-Life Care in California
Marjorie Kagawa-Singer, Ph.D., R.N., M.N, co-investigator of the Community Network Program (CNP) AANCART, and LaVera Crawley, M.D., M.P.H. authored this report which examines the causes and patterns of death and dying across California's populations and the impact on the delivery of health care.
http://www.chcf.org
See Full Report
http://www.chcf.orgSee Related Article
- Racial, Ethnic Cultural Differences Affect Minorities' Experience With Hospice Care, Report Finds
- Few Minorities Use Hospice Care in California, Study Says
Hidden Barriers Between Knowledge and Behavior
(Cancer, March 12, 2007 Early View)
Authors of the study, including Paul A. Godley, principal investigator of the Carolina Community Network CNP, investigate why prostate cancer mortality is much greater for African American than for Caucasian men. To identify patient factors that might account for some of this disparity, men within 6 months of diagnosis were surveyed about health attitudes and behavior.
See Full Article
http://www3.interscience.wiley.comSee Related Articles
- African Americans' Prostate Mortality Rooted in Class
- Lack Of Care, Not Knowledge, Cause Health Disparities In Prostate Cancer
- ER Prostate-Cancer Care Common In Blacks
- Study Ties Cancer Death Disparity to Lack of Access
- Prostate Study Zeroes In On Care
Sora Park Tanjasiri, Director of New CSUF Center for Cancer Disparities Research, Raises Awareness
Commonly seen as a private disease, cancer is something many Pacific Islanders tend to hide from their relatives, keeping it a secret until they die. “It’s a very personal disease in the Samoan and other Pacific Island cultures. Part of the stigma is that if you have cancer, you did something wrong in your life to deserve it,” said Sora Park Tanjasiri, associate professor of health science and director of Cal State Fullerton’s new Center for Cancer Disparities Research.
http://campusapps.fullerton.edu
Ratings of Physician Communication by Real and Standardized Patients
(Annals of Famile Medicince, Vol. 5, No. 2, March/April 2007)
Patient ratings of physician’s patient-centered communication are used
by various specialty credentialing organizations and managed care organizations
as a measure of physician communication skills. Authors Kevin Fiscella, M.D., M.P.H., et al. wanted to compare ratings by real patients with ratings by standardized patients of physician communication.
See Full Article
http://www.annfammed.orgEnhancing Practice
Racial Disparities in Treatment and Survival of Male Breast Cancer
(JCO Mar 20 2007: 1089–1098)
Black women with breast cancer have poorer survival than do white women, but little is known about racial disparities in male breast cancer. The authors analyzed race and other predictors of treatment and survival among men with stage I-III breast cancer.
See Full Article
See Related Article
The Role of Air Nicotine in Explaining Racial Differences in Cotinine Among Tobacco-Exposed Children
(Chest. 2007; 131:856-862)
African-American children have higher rates of tobacco-associated morbidity. Few studies have objectively measured racial differences in the exposure of children to tobacco smoke. The objective of this study was to test whether African-American children have higher levels of cotinine compared to white children while accounting for ambient measures of tobacco smoke.
See Full Article
http://www.chestjournal.orgSee Related Article
Descriptive Analysis of Estrogen Receptor (ER)-Negative, Progesterone Receptor (PR)-Negative, and HER2-Negative Invasive Breast Cancer, the So-Called Triple-Negative Phenotype
(Cancer, 26 March 2007, Early View)
Triple-negative breast cancers affect younger, non-Hispanic black and Hispanic women in areas of low SES. The tumors were diagnosed at later stage and were more aggressive, and these women had poorer survival regardless of stage. In addition, non-Hispanic black women with late-stage triple-negative breast cancer had the poorest survival of any comparable group.
See Full Article
http://www3.interscience.wiley.comSee Related Articles
- Minority Women Under 40 At Higher Risk for Deadly Breast Cancer
- Minorities at Risk of Fatal Breast Cancer
- Young, Black Women at Higher Risk of Aggressive Breast Cancer
Trends in the Black-White Life Expectancy Gap in the United States, 1983-200
(JAMA. 2007;297:(doi:10.1001/jama.297.11.1224))
Since the early 1980s, the black-white gap in life expectancy at birth increased sharply and subsequently declined, but the causes of these changes have not been investigated.
See Full Article
http://jama.ama-assn.orgSee Related Articles
- Gap in Black-White Life Expectancy Narrows
- U.S. Black-White Life Expectancy Gap Shrinking
- For Black Men, Disparities Mean Shorter Lives
- Life Expectancy Gap Between Blacks, Whites Narrowing, Partly Because of Declining Death Rates From Various Diseases, Study Finds
National Science Foundation Releases Statistics On Women, Minorities and Persons With Disabilities
On March 5, 2007, the National Science Foundation released the latest statistics on women, minorities and persons with disabilities in science and engineering. The report focuses on education and employment statistics for these groups.
http://www.eurekalert.org
See Full Report
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/Select Disparities-Related News Stories
Unraveling The Cancer-Poverty Connection
Dr. Harold P. Freeman was featured in the CBS Evening News broadcast series "The American Spirit" on March 12. Dr. Freeman pioneered the Patient Navigator Program in Harlem so that the poor and uninsured could be screened and treated for cancer. As a result of his dedicated work over the years, Dr. Freeman has had a very positive impact on the cancer community. He talks with Katie Couric.
http://www.cbsnews.com
See Related Video
Eye to Eye: Dr. Harold FreemanSee Related Articles
- A Look At Patient Navigators
- CBS 'Evening News' Profiles Director of Harlem, N.Y., Cancer Prevention Center
At the End of Life, a Racial Divide: Minorities Are More Likely to Want Aggressive Care, Studies Show
After lives in which they often struggle to get medical care, African Americans and other minorities are more likely than whites to want, and get, more aggressive care as death nears and are less likely to use hospice and palliative-care services to ease their suffering, according to a large body of research and leading experts.
http://www.washingtonpost.com
See Related Article
Minorities More Likely Than Whites To Seek Aggressive End-of-Life Care, Studies FindGoal No. 1: Good Science. Goal No. 1: Diversity.
Fifteen of the 32 researchers in Dr. Michael Summers’s biochemistry lab at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, including a postdoctoral student and 3 Ph.D. candidates, are black. In the halls of American science, such representation is rare.
http://www.nytimes.com
Addressing Health Needs of Hispanics
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes are some of the leading causes of death among Hispanics. However, according to the 2005 National Health Interview Survey, Hispanic adults have the highest rate of being without a "usual place of health care," at 26 percent, compared with a national average of 15 percent.
http://www.baltimoresun.com
Why is Breast Cancer Deadlier for Blacks?
It's one of Chicago's most vexing health problems. Black women are far more likely than white women to die of breast cancer, and the gap is widening. On March 23rd, 2007, top experts gathered at Rush University Medical Center to tackle this racial gap.
http://www.suntimes.com
See Related Article
University of Miami Researchers, Haitian Community Health Workers Team Up To Address Breast Cancer
A collaboration between doctors at the University of Miami and members of the Haitian community in Southern Florida is attempting to address mammography screening and breast cancer among Haitian women living in the U.S.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org
See Related Article
Breast Cancer 'Hits Poor Hardest'
Women from deprived backgrounds are treated differently and have a lower breast cancer survival rate than more affluent women, a study suggests.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6419343.stm
Funding, Training, and Employment Opportunities
Funding Opportunities
Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Across the US (REACH US) (CDC-RFA-DP07-707)
The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), announces the availability of fiscal year (FY) 2007 funds for cooperative agreements to advance evidence and practice-based programs and culturally based community practices to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities.
Current Closing Date for Applications: May 07, 2007
http://www.grants.gov
2007 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award Program (DP2)
As part of its commitment to increasing the success of new investigators, NIH has created the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award to support exceptionally creative new investigators who propose highly innovative approaches that have the potential to produce an unusually high impact.
Application Receipt Date(s): May 22, 2007
http://grants.nih.gov
Notice of Intent to Publish a Request for Applications for Centers for Research to Reduce Disparities in Oral Health (NOT-DE-07-003)
The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) plans to issue a Request for Applications (RFA), in the spring of 2007 for Centers for Research to Reduce Disparities in Oral Health.
Applications Due No Later Than November 15, 2007
http://grants.nih.gov
Training Opportunities
Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (PA-05-015)
The NIH hereby notifies Principal Investigators holding specific types of NIH research grants (listed in the full announcement) that funds are available for administrative supplements to improve the diversity of the research workforce by supporting and recruiting students, postdoctorates, and eligible investigators from groups that have been shown to be underrepresented.
Application Receipt Dates(s): NCI receives applications from March 1 to May 1, 2007 (See NIH GUIDE NOTICE NOT-CA-05-028)
http://grants.nih.gov
American Indian Graduate Center Fellowship Program
American Indian Graduate Center Fellowship Program provides support to assist American Indian college graduates to continue their education at the master's, doctorate and professional degree level. Eligible applicants are members of a federally recognized American Indian tribe or Alaskan Native
group.
Fellowship Application Deadline: June 1, 2007
http://www.aigcs.org
Upcoming Meetings and Events
Disparities in Health Status in the United States
April 4, 2007
Woodrow Wilson Center
Washington, DC
http://www.wilsoncenter.org
2007 UAB Health Disparities Research Symposium
April 5, 2007
Doubletree Hotel
Birmingham, AL
http://mhrc.dopm.uab.edu
Second Annual AACR-Minorities in Cancer Research- Jane Cook Wright Lectureship
April 15, 2007
4:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Los Angeles Convention Center Hall B
http://www.aacr.org
MICR Forum: Genetic Variability & Ethnicity in Cancer Treatment Outcome: Challenges and Opportunities
April, 16, 2007
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Los Angeles Convention Center Room 501 A-C
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.aacr.org
MICR Town Meeting
April, 16, 2007
5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Wilshire Grand Hotel Los Angeles/Golden State
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.aacr.org
MICR Professional Advancement Roundtable: Navigating the Road to a Successful Career in Cancer Research
April 16, 2007
7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Wilshire Grand Hotel Sierra/Pacific Ballroom
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.aacr.org
MICR Scientific Symposium: Molecular Aspects of Cancer Treatment and of Cancer Risk
April 17, 2007
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Los Angeles Convention Center Room 301 A-B
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.aacr.org
2007 Maryland Health and Health Disparities Conference and Public Health Forum
April 23, 2007
Martin's West
Baltimore, MD
April 24, 2007
Turf Valley Conference Center
Ellicott City, MD
http://www.mdhealthdisparities.org
A Workshop on Understanding Interventions that Encourage Minorities to Pursue Biomedical, Behavioral, and STEM Research Careers
May 3-4, 2007
National Academy of Sciences
Washington, DC
Registration Deadline: April 27, 2007
http://dels.nas.edu/bls/more/logistics.shtml
Disparities in Health in America 4th Annual Summer Workshop: Working Toward Social Justice
June 24-30, 2006
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX
http://www.mdanderson.org
San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
December 13-17, 2007
Gonzalez Convention Center
San Antonio, Texas
Abstract Submission Deadline: June 1, 2007.
http://www.sabcs.org/
Training Events
Molecular Biology in Clinical Oncology
June 30 - July 7, 2007
Given Institute of the University of Colorada
Aspen, CO
http://www.aacr.org
Pathobiology of Cancer: The Edward A. Smuckler Memorial Workshop
July 15-22, 2007
Snowmass Village Resort
Snowmass Vilage, CO
http://www.aacr.org
2007 SACNAS National Conference
October 11-14, 2007
Kansas City, MO
Abstract Submission Deadline: July 20, 2007
http://www2.sacnas.org