Penn Medicine will lead heart disease and cancer research in minority communities

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania will work nationwide to learn more about why cancer patients and survivors in black and Hispanic communities are more likely to develop heart disease, and how to address this discrepancy.

Penn Medicine announced on Monday that its Center of Excellence in Cardiac Oncology Translation has received US$2.9 million from the American Heart Association to fund the project, which will be conducted by 30 researchers across the country over the next four years.

Due to insufficient evidence in cardiac oncology, the team hopes to “define how the sociological structure of race and genomic ancestry is associated with cardiotoxicity in breast and prostate cancer and determine its cardiotoxicity,” said Dr. Kevin Volpp, director of the University of Pennsylvania Center. Health incentives and behavioral economics.

“Using a range of innovative methods, such as gamification and digital health, we hope to provide new ways to bridge the historically underserved black and Hispanic cancer survivor care gap,” Volpe added.

According to statistics, of the approximately 17 million cancer survivors alive today, nearly half have been diagnosed with breast or prostate cancer. Pennsylvania Medicine.

In Philadelphia, A 2016 study by Drexel University It shows that black women and men have higher cancer death rates than the city’s white and Hispanic communities, especially in breast and prostate cancer. A possible contributory factor: According to the 2016 publication in The Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Hispanic/Latino men in the United States. Prostate Cancer FoundationThey account for more than one-fifth of all new cancer diagnoses, with nearly 14,000 new cases and 2,000 deaths each year.

“Hispanic/Latino men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer also seem to be more likely to be diagnosed at a younger age and have a higher-risk disease,” the foundation’s website says. “In addition, a study based on California cancer registry data showed that Hispanic/Latino men with high-risk local disease are less likely to receive guideline definitive treatment than non-Hispanic white men.”

As part of the research, the researchers are collaborating with Mehari School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. — The nation’s largest private historically black academic health science center — Create summer courses for medical students of color. Through the training of diverse health professionals and training courses that emphasize empathy, cultural humility and competence, those involved in the project believe that it will make care more equitable in the long run.