American Cancer Society launches study focused on cancer risk, outcomes among Black women
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The American Cancer Society has launched VOICES of Black Women, a large long-term population study of cancer risk and outcomes among Black women in the United States.
Researchers hope to enroll more than 100,000 Black women aged 25 to 55 years from varied backgrounds and income levels. The study population will encompass 20 states and Washington, D.C.
Despite greater awareness and efforts to increase diversity in clinical trials, Black women continue to be underrepresented in cancer research. In addition, Black women have the highest death rate and shortest survival of any ethnic or racial group in the U.S. for most cancers.
“We have made significant advancements in medicine, but I don’t think Black women have benefited equitably from those advancements because they haven’t been included in the research,” co-principal investigator Lauren McCullough, PhD, MSPH, associate professor of epidemiology at Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, told Healio. “Having a study like this ensures that what we can learn about cancer prevention, treatment and survivorship is going to be relevant for a group that disproportionately suffers from this disease.”
Healio spoke with McCullough about the need for this study, its scope and duration, and what she hopes to learn that ultimately could improve outcomes for this underserved population.
Healio: What inspired you to conduct this study?
McCullough: There were several motivations. First, the American Cancer Society has really been a leader in the space of these large-scale cohorts. They’ve been doing these types of studies for 70 years with over 2.5 million participants. Over time, we have learned that — even though minoritized groups have been represented — they often have not been represented in the numbers we would like. To be able to address some of the barriers that these populations are experiencing, we need to dig deep and look at specific groups. Black women often experience more aggressive types of cancers or are diagnosed at later stages of disease. With very few exceptions, they are more likely to die of their cancer than any other race or ethnicity.
Healio: How will you conduct this study, and what do you hope to learn?
McCullough: It’s a long-term prospective study. We’re going to evaluate people for up to 30 years to better understand why they develop cancer and — upon diagnosis — why certain groups achieve better cancer survival. This isn’t a clinical trial — we aren’t delivering an intervention or giving people drugs. We are just asking them to report on their day-to-day experiences and lifestyle. We are asking participants initially to complete a questionnaire that explores family history, medical conditions, neighborhoods, diet, sleep, and experiences of racism and discrimination. We will send two 30-minute surveys every subsequent year to get updated information. We will ask participants if they have been diagnosed with anything new, or whether anything has changed about their lifestyle. Those numbers will allow us to see what types of things people are exposed to, or what types of behaviors lead to the development of those more aggressive types of cancer.
What we learn will differ along the lifespan of the study. Very early on, we may be able to access the prevalence of certain risk factors, such as smoking status or inflammatory diets. Then, at around year 5, we’ll be able to look at what factors are driving aggressive types of cancer. In the longer term, probably after about a decade, we’ll be able to answer some questions about outcomes and survivorship.
Healio: What are the potential long-term implications of this study?
McCullough: My hope is that we can begin to understand why Black women are developing aggressive types of cancers and inform ways to reduce their risk. I also hope that some of the information we learn about how Black women engage with the medical system can inform how we treat these patients, whether it be through individual hospital systems or through local or federal policies. I’m hoping it will better help us ensure that our treatment is equitable and that everybody has the opportunity to survive cancer.
Reference:
- American Cancer Society. To drive a deeper understanding of cancer disparities, American Cancer Society launches largest U.S. population study of Black women (press release). Available at https://pressroom.cancer.org/releases?item=1322. Published May 7, 2024. Accessed June 8, 2024.
For more information:
Lauren McCullough, PhD, MSPH, can be reached at lauren.mccullough@cancer.org.
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