Program
Please note that this meeting will take place as an in-person event in Philadelphia and will not live-stream content for virtual participation. The meeting content will be recorded and made available as an on-demand program after the conference. Registration details.
CME credit is available for in-person attendance for the designated sessions. On-demand presentations are not eligible for CME.
All presentations are scheduled to be live, in-person presentations at the date and time specified below unless noted otherwise. Program in progress.
[R] – remote presentation
Friday, September 16
Saturday, September 17
Plenary Session 1: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Putting Equity First
NCI Listening Session: Embracing Complexity: Understanding Context to Eliminate Cancer Disparities and Achieve Equity
Professional Advancement Session Presented by Minorities in Cancer Research (MICR)
Concurrent Session 1: NIH Initiatives: Bridging the Equity Gap
Concurrent Session 2: Organ-Based Session: Breast and Endometrial Cancers
Plenary 2: American Indian/Alaska Native Populations and Cancer Health Disparities
Educational Session 1: Publicly Available Databases and Resources for Cancer Health Disparities Research: Database Access for Beginners
Educational Session 2: Integration of Single Cell/Spatial Genomic Tools to Study Cancer Health Disparities
Sunday, September 18
Addressing Advocacy at the Bench
Plenary Session 3: The Basic Science of Stress and Cancer Health Disparities: From Environment to Cancer Biology
Hot Topics and Recent Discoveries 1: Presentations from the Top-Rated Abstracts
Hot Topics and Recent Discoveries 2: Presentations from the Top-Rated Abstracts
Concurrent Session 3: Clinical Cancer Research and Diversity
Concurrent Session 4: Survivorship Disparities
Plenary Session 4: The Role of COVID in Worsening Existing Cancer Health Disparities in the US and Globally
Closing Persistent Gaps in Cancer Care: Reducing Disparities and Democratizing Cancer Care
Monday, September 19
Plenary Session 5: Tumor Microenvironment, Tumor Immunology, and Cancer Health Disparities
Concurrent Session 5: Global Disparities: A Global Approach to Understanding the Generative Mechanisms Underpinning Cancer Health
Concurrent Session 6: Obesity and Cancer
Plenary Session 6: Incorporating Genetic Ancestry into Cancer Research
Friday, September 16
Welcome and Opening Session
4-6:00 p.m.
Keynote Address
Ending cancer as we know it – For all
Douglas R. Lowy, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
Advocate Keynote
How patient advocates can make a difference in their research advocacy efforts and contributions and why it’s important
Wenora Y. Johnson, FORCE & Fight CRC, Joilet, Illinois
AACR Distinguished Lectureship on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities
Translating multiethnic epidemiological research into innovative interventions
Loic Le Marchand, University of Hawai’i Cancer Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
Minorities in Cancer Research (MICR) Meet and Greet
6-7 p.m.
Poster Session A / Opening Reception
7-8:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 17
Breakfast and Professional Networking Roundtables
7:30-8:30 a.m.
Plenary Session 1: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Putting Equity First
Session Chairs: Nadine J. Barrett, Duke University Health System, Inc., Durham, North Carolina, and Laura Fejerman, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, Davis, California
8:30-10 a.m.
DEIA: The need for bold application in cancer disparities research
Nadine J. Barrett
The significance of social capital investments and networking for developing community and building equity among African Americans in the life sciences
Chad Womack, United Negro College Fund, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
Diversity-Equity-Inclusion-Belonging: Reflections from the trenches
Ana Maria Lopez, Jefferson Health Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Break
10-10:30 a.m.
NCI Listening Session: Embracing Complexity: Understanding Context to Eliminate Cancer Disparities and Achieve Equity
session chairs: John D. Carpten, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, California, and Chyke A. Doubeni, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
*Not designated for CME
Title to be announced [R]
Chanita Hughes-Halbert, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
The intersection of social determinants, biology, ancestry, and environment [R]
Timothy R. Rebbeck, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
Title to be announced [R]
Scarlett L. Gomez, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
Title to be announced
Douglas R. Lowy, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
Professional Advancement Session Presented by Minorities in Cancer Research (MICR)
12:30-2 p.m.
**Lunch on own for those not attending
Concurrent Sessions 1 and 2
2-3 p.m.
Concurrent Session 1: NIH Initiatives: Bridging the Equity Gap
Session Chairs: Martin Mendoza, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, and Tiffany A. Wallace, NCI-CRCHD, Rockville, Maryland
Achieving Health Equity through the All of Us Research Program
Karriem S. Watson, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
Community Engagement Alliance
Nathan Stinson, Jr., National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, Bethesda, Maryland
UNITE [R]
Leia Butler, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
White House Cancer Moonshot
Catharine G. Young, Cancer Moonshot, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Washington DC
Concurrent Session 2: : Organ-Based Session: Breast and Endometrial Cancers
Session Chairs: Adetunji T. Toriola, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, and Onyinye D. Balogun, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
mTOR pathway gene expression in association with race and clinicopathological characteristics in Black and White breast cancer patients
Mmadili N. Ilozumba, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Reducing disparities in breast cancer mortality through the identification of novel targets in triple-negative breast cancer
Jason D. Weber, Washington University in Saint Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
Disparities in uterine cancer incidence and mortality
Megan A. Clarke, NCI Division of Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics, Rockville, Maryland
Microbial profiles of early-stage endometrial cancers between Black and White women and impact of disparities
Victoria L. Bae-Jump, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Plenary 2: American Indian/Alaska Native Populations and Cancer Health Disparities
Session Chairs: Claradina Soto, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, California, and Francine C. Gachupin, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
3-4 p.m.
The Alaska Native Tumor Registry: Fifty years of cancer surveillance data for Alaska Native people
Elena Roik, ANTHC, Alaska Native Epidemiology Center, Anchorage, Alaska
The more you know… about HPV and cervical cancer in Native American communities
Naomi Lee, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona
Two-Row Wampum and Indigenous Cancer Services: Building respectful parallels of sovereignty along the cancer care continuum
Rodney C. Haring, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
“Pursuing Wicozani for the Oceti Sakowin”: Reducing cancer disparities among AI/AN in the Great Plains
Richard Mousseau, Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board, Rapid City, South Dakota
Break
4:30-5 p.m.
Educational Sessions 1 & 2
5-6 p.m.
Educational Session 1: Publicly Available Databases and Resources for Cancer Health Disparities Research: Database Access for Beginners
Session Chair: Katherine Y. Tossas, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
Publicly available genomics resources for health disparities research
Paul L. Auer, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The National Cancer Database (NCDB) and Cancer Health Disparity Research: What is in this clinical data set and how do I get a copy?
Ryan McCabe, The American College of Surgeons, Chicago, Illinois
The All of Us Research Hub: A dataset for all of us
Karriem S. Watson, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
AACR Project GENIE: An International pan-cancer registry of Real-world data
Jocelyn Lee, AACR Project GENIE, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Educational Session 2: Integration of Single Cell/Spatial Genomic Tools to Study Cancer Health Disparities
Session Chairs: Sophia H. L. George, University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Miami, Florida, AND Jasmine Plummer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
Creating a single cell and spatial atlas of breast, ovarian and prostate cancer for African ancestry
Jasmine Plummer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
Single nuclei chromatin accessibility and transcriptomic map of breast tissues of women of diverse genetic ancestry
Harikrishna Nakshatri, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
Utilizing Visium spatial transcriptomics to investigate prostate cancer disparity in men of African descent
Maxine Harlemon, Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, California
Poster Session B / Reception
6-7:30 p.m.
Sunday, September 18
Breakfast and Professional Networking Roundtables
8-9 a.m.
Addressing Advocacy at the Bench – A Discussion about Cultural Literacy: Addressing Cultural Competence
8-9 a.m.
*Not designated for CME
Patients’ cultural health beliefs are integral to their quality of care. It affects how they think and feel about clinical research, their health and health problems, when and from whom they seek health care, and how they respond to recommendations for lifestyle change, health-care interventions, and treatment plans. The interface between cultural processes, healthcare, and science is complex. Fortunately, there is emerging literature on the effectiveness of community-based interventions to increase the cultural competence of health providers and scientists. This session will highlight case studies of community-based initiatives, developed and implemented by teams of advocates and researchers, that focus on shaping programs, policies, and interventions that promote cultural competence.
Electra D. Paskett, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Gabriel Glissmeyer, National LGBT Cancer Network, Providence, Rhode Island
Ivis C. Febus-Sampayo, Disrupt Committee: The Light Collective, Winter Garden, Florida
Ronny A. Bell, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Camille C. R. Ragin, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Plenary Session 3: The Basic Science of Stress and Cancer Health Disparities: From Environment to Cancer Biology
Session Chairs: Leanne Woods-Burnham, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, and Catherine Hoyo, Noth Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina [R]
9-10:30 a.m.
Neighborhood disadvantage and individual-level life stressors in relation to breast cancer incidence in US Black women
Julie R. Palmer, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
Role of stress-survival pathways and transcriptomic alterations in progression of colorectal cancer: A Hispanic health disparities perspective
Sourav Roy, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas
Impact of multilevel social, geospatial, and individual level determinants of cancer biomarkers [R]
Timothy R. Rebbeck, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
Break
10:30-11 a.m.
Hot Topics and Recent Discoveries 1 and 2: presentations from the Top-Rated Abstracts
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Hot Topics and Recent Discoveries 1: Presentations from the Top-Rated Abstracts
Session Chair: Janielle P. Maynard, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
Assessing differences in miRNA profiles by race and ethnicity: Implications for creating an equitable ovarian cancer early detection test
Stephanie Alimena, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
SPOP mutation is associated with higher immunogenicity in African American men compared to European American men with prostate cancer
Isra A. Elhussin, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama
Colorectal cancer screening among Native Americans of Nebraska: A qualitative analysis of the barriers and facilitators
Krishtee Napit, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Urban/rural differences in receiving cancer surgery at high-volume hospitals and sensitivity to hospital volume thresholds
Haleh Ramian, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
How racial segregation impacts late stage at cancer diagnosis in Virginia
Savannah Reitzel, Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Health Behavior and Policy, Richmond, Virginia
The racial disparity-linked gene CRYβB2 alters cell adhesion and tumor microenvironment to promote proliferation and invasion in triple-negative breast cancer
Amr A. Waly, North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina
Hot Topics and recent Discoveries 2: Presentations from the Top-Rated Abstracts
Session Chair: Justin X. Moore, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
Tumoral infiltrating lymphocytes as a prognostic factor in triple negative breast cancer patients from Colombia [R]
Carlos A. Huertas-Caro, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Bógota D.C., Columbia
Landscape of actionable mutations and outcomes in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer across age, sex, and race [R]
David C. Qian, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
Role of treatment on racial and ethnic disparities in heart disease mortality among U.S. breast cancer survivors, 2000-2018
Jacqueline B. Vo, National Cancer Institute Division of Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics, Rockville, Maryland
Evaluating a bidirectional academic–community partnership with multiple racial/ethnic communities for cancer prevention cnitiatives and cancer health disparities research
Lin Zhu, Center for Asian Health, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Association of genetic ancestry with lung-cancer risk in White and Black ever-smokers
Courtney D. Dill, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland
Spatial transcriptomics reveals racial disparities in the transcriptional substructure of triple negative breast cancer
Rania Bassiouni, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
Poster Session C / Lunch
12:30-2 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions 3 and 4
2-3 p.m.
Concurrent Session 3: Clinical Cancer Research and Diversity
Session Chair: Marvella E. Ford, MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, Charleston, South Carolina [R], and David P. Turner, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
Increasing racial and ethnic diversity in clinical cancer research
Jane Figueiredo, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Los Angeles, California
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in heightening existing disparities in cancer clinical trials, an NCI experience
Fatima Karzai, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
AGEing and RAGEing in prostate cancer: Integrating ancestral tumor biology into the multilevel framework of health inequity constructs to inform on cancer disparity outcomes
David P. Turner
Concurrent Session 4: Survivorship Disparities
Session chairs: Susan Hong, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, and Yamile Molina, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Examining racial disparities in treatment-related cardiovascular dysfunction in breast cancer survivors
Arnethea L. Sutton, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
The impact of race, ethnicity, culture, and well-being among childhood cancer survivors and their parent caregivers
Carol Y. Ochoa, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
Opportunities for engagement: A clinic to community view of the breast cancer continuum
Timiya S. Nolan, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
Plenary Session 4: The Role of COVID in Worsening Existing Cancer Health Disparities in the US and Globally
Session Chair: Amelie G. Ramirez, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
3-4:30 p.m.
Latinx communities, cancer disparities, and COVID-19
Amelie G. Ramirez
Social determinants of health and COVID-19 exacerbating cancer health disparities in Asian Americans
Grace X. Ma, Temple University, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Impact of the COVID pandemic on cancer health disparities in the African American population
Clara Hwang, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Michigan
COVID-19 and cancer health disparities in low- and middle-income countries
Laura Fejerman, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, Davis, California
Valentina Zavala, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, Davis, California
Additional speakers to be announced
Break
4:30-5 p.m.
Closing Persistent Gaps in Cancer Care: Reducing Disparities and Democratizing Cancer Care – A Call to Action
Organized by the AACR Government Affairs Session
Session Chair: John D. Carpten, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, California
5-6 p.m.
*Not designated for CME
Title to be announced
Edith P. Mitchell, Jefferson Health Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The importance of patient advocacy in closing racial gaps in cancer care
Bianca Islam, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Strengthening community engagement to increase participation in clinical trials
Wenora Y. Johnson, FORCE & Fight CRC, Joilet, Illinois
Community engagement in clinical trials
Ivis C. Febus-Sampayo, Disrupt Committee: The Light Collective, Winter Garden, Florida
Evening Off / Dinner on Own
6 p.m.
Monday, September 19
Breakfast and Professional Networking Roundtables
8-9 a.m.
Plenary Session 5: Tumor Microenvironment, Tumor Immunology, and Cancer Health Disparities
Session Chairs: Santiago Lima, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, Jasmine A. McDonald, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, and Valerie Odero-Marah, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland
9-10:30 a.m.
Race and immune microenvironments in context of individual- and community-level covariates
Melissa A. Troester, UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
The breast cancer biomarkers as predictors of survival: Do they vary by race and ethnicity?
Sandeep Singhal, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota
Distinct Immune-oncologic pathways in African American men with prostate cancer: Opportunities for immune-related therapies
Kosj Yamoah, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida
Basic science mechanisms associated with bone tumor microenvironment and health disparities in breast and prostate cancer
Valerie Odero-Marah
Break
10:30-11 a.m.
Concurrent Sessions 5 and 6
11 a.m.-12 p.m.
Concurrent Session 5: Global Disparities: A Global Approach to Understanding the Generative Mechanisms Underpinning Cancer Health Disparities
Session chairs: James R. Alaro, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland, and Neal A. Palafox, John A. Burns School. of Medicine University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii
Unraveling the generative mechanisms that underpin cancer health disparities: A global approach
James R. Alaro
Embracing a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding and addressing the generative mechanisms that underpin disparities: An example of understanding complex interactions between multiple causes
Neal A. Palafox
Accounting for context: An example of a multidisciplinary research collaboration with the research set and conducted within the communities where disparities occur – community living labs in South Africa [R]
Lynnette A. Denny, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Concurrent Session 6: Obesity and Cancer
Session Chairs: Tyvette Hilliard, Harper Cancer Research Institute, Notre Dame, Indiana, and Elizabeth M. Cespedes Feliciano, Kaiser Permanente – Northern California, Oakland, California
Bio-behavioral approaches to reducing racial disparities in obesity and GI cancers
Tiffany Carson, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
Mechanistic strategies for breaking the obesity-cancer link
Michael Coleman, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Adipokine and adipokine receptor expression in breast tumors: Associations with greater body fatness and more aggressive clinicopathologic features
Adana A.M. Llanos, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York
Break
12-12:30 p.m.
Plenary Session 6: Incorporating Genetic Ancestry into Cancer Research
Session chairs: K. Sean Kimbro, North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina, and Rick A. Kittles, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
12:30-2 p.m.
Leveraging genetic ancestry in cancer disparities research
Rick A. Kittles
Ancestry-driven drug discovery
K. Sean Kimbro
Leveraging genomic ancestry to understand outcomes in cancer care
Altovise T. Ewing, Genentech Roche, South San Francisco, California
Resolving race versus ancestry in tumor immunological responses
Melissa B. Davis, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
Closing Remarks
2-2:15 p.m.
Kevin L. Gardner, Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, New York
Kevin Sean Kimbro, North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina
Martin Mendoza, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
Camille C. R. Ragin, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Claradina Soto, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, California