Abstract IA-01: Health disparity research: The new frontier of research

In 2020, the AACR's U.S. Cancer Disparities Progress Report showed that the there is still a significant gap in cancer incidence and mortality between white Americans and other racial and ethnic groups. That's not because the science hasn't progressed or because people of color are biologically predisposed to cancer. It's because the systems and structures put in place decades ago continue to harm the health of racial and ethnic minorities. Red-lining in the 1930s created segregated housing, and then the creation of the national highway system decimated majority-Black neighborhoods, leaving them treeless, polluted, and lacking healthy food and medical facilities. As a result, people living in these neighborhoods are more likely to get cancer and also more likely to die from it. So, when COVID-19 hit, many of us were not surprised that communities of color were disproportionately affected. And the current situation with COVID-19 vaccines is a great demonstration that while science is necessary for improving health, it's not sufficient. Those amazingly effective vaccines can't keep hospitals from being overwhelmed if a large chunk of the population won't get the shot, just as advances in cancer screening and treatment can't end disparities if they're predominantly going to wealthy white people. This realization has been one of our blind spots as scientists and physicians. Not only must work toward equitable access to care, but we must also work on building trust in medicine, which we do by demonstrating that we're trustworthy. There's a science to it, though we're going to have to allow for greater flexibility and messiness than we're accustomed to.

Citation Format: Robert A. Winn. Health disparity research: The new frontier of research [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: 14th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2021 Oct 6-8. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr IA-01.