Cancer Health Disparities
One of the purposes of Minorities in Cancer Research is to address the disparities in cancer incidence and mortality faced by minorities and the medically underserved. Below you will find information about the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and MICR’s involvement in this crucial area of research.
AACR Special Conferences
AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved
This conference was inaugurated in 2007 and was a landmark event on the path to understanding and, ultimately, eliminating the disparities in cancer that represent a major public health problem in our country. By promoting the exchange of novel ideas and information among a wide range of professionals and laity, from academia, industry, government and the community, the conference was able to harness the potential and maximize the many opportunities for bringing research on health disparities from bench to bedside or community, and back again.
AACR Scientific Achievement Award
The AACR Distinguished Lecture on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities, funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, recognizes an investigator whose novel and significant work has had or may have a far-reaching impact on the etiology, detection, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of cancer health disparities.
The recipient of the award receives a $5,000 honorarium and presents a 45-minute lecture at the AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved.
AACR Scientific Sessions
The AACR has demonstrated longstanding support of cancer health disparities by including this research area in its scientific sessions throughout the association’s Annual Meeting:
- 2018 MICR Scientific Symposium: “Population Specific Research on Cancer Targeted Treatments and Drug Response: Contributing to the Elimination of Cancer Health Disparities”
AACR Publications
The AACR publishes nine highly-cited journals and a magazine, Cancer Today. Cancer health disparities has been a featured topic in articles and podcasts from these publications.
Science Policy and Government Affairs
AACR’s office of Science Policy and Government Affairs has hosted a Congressional Briefing on Cancer Health Disparities (August 2013) and formed a Cancer Health Disparities Task Force which has assisted in the establishment of several AACR cancer health disparities initiatives.
NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities
For more information about cancer health disparities among minority populations, and grants and disparities research funding, visit the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD).
HD*Calc
The National Cancer Institute announces the launch of the Health Disparities Calculator (HD*Calc). This statistical software generates multiple summary measures for evaluating and monitoring health disparities and can be used either as an extension of SEER*Stat, which allows users to import Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data or on its own with other population-based health data, such as from the National Health Interview Survey, California Health Interview Survey, Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey, and National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The intended audience for HD*Calc includes anyone interested in health and cancer-related disparities, as well as those interested in learning about summary measures of health disparities.