OBJECTIVE: Peer support networks have been suggested to have significant utility in the care of patients with cancer, especially among racial minorities. This article proposes an approach to integrate peer support networks into the care of racial minorities with cancer.
METHODS: Methods to integrate peer support groups across racial minorities with cancer include utilizing language and religion in strategic recruitment of peer supporters, recruiting minority peer supporters in online oncology peer support groups, and emphasizing relationship & trust building for participant retention.
RESULTS: Language concordance among peer support groups may enhance patient understandability, emotional expression, and create a sense of community and safety. Religious integration may also promote support group accessibility, particularly among Blacks, who tend to depend on their religious communities for cancer care guidance to a greater extent. In addition to providing knowledge, online opportunities may also decrease cancer-related stress, depression, and trauma. Trust between individuals and their sociocultural environment and healthcare system, as well as between the community and the healthcare system, is necessary, particularly for racial minorities who may harbor a historical mistrust of the healthcare system.
CONCLUSIONS: To close the racial cancer care gap, a multi-pronged approach is crucial. This includes establishing tailored peer support networks within minority communities that account for language, religion, and cultural factors to build trust and meet psycho-social needs. However, peer support is just one tool. Other critical tools such as holding healthcare institutions accountable for providing equitable care to racial minorities is equally vital in reducing disparities and improving survival outcomes.

UNASSIGNED: Maintaining cardiovascular health (CVH) is critical for breast cancer (BC) survivors, particularly given the potential cardiotoxic effects of cancer treatments. Poor CVH among Black BC survivors may be influenced by various area-level social determinants of health, yet the impact of neighborhood archetypes in CVH among this population remains understudied.
UNASSIGNED: This study aimed to characterize the neighborhood archetypes where Black BC survivors resided at diagnosis and evaluate their associations with CVH.
UNASSIGNED: We assessed CVH 24 months post-diagnosis in 713 participants diagnosed between 2012 and 2017 in the Women\'s Circle of Health Follow-Up Study, a population-based study of Black BC survivors in New Jersey. Neighborhood archetypes, identified via latent class analysis based on 16 social and built environment features, were categorized into tertiles. Associations between neighborhood archetypes and CVH scores were estimated using polytomous logistic regression.
UNASSIGNED: CVH scores were assessed categorically (low, moderate, and optimal) and as continuous variables. On average, Black BC survivors achieved only half of the recommended score for optimal CVH. Among the 4 identified archetypes, women in the Mostly Culturally Black and Hispanic/Mixed Land Use archetype showed the lowest CVH scores. Compared to this archetype, Black BC survivors in the Culturally Diverse/Mixed Land Use archetype were nearly 3 times as likely to have optimal CVH (relative risk ratio: 2.92; 95% CI: 1.58-5.40), with a stronger association observed in younger or premenopausal women. No significant CVH differences were noted for the other 2 archetypes with fewer built environment features.
UNASSIGNED: Neighborhood archetypes, integrating social and built environment factors, may represent crucial targets for promoting CVH among BC survivors.

Although American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) students are the most underrepresented group in the U.S. in biomedical and health sciences relative to population size, little is known about long-term research education programs and outcome tracking. For over 20 years, the Partnership for Native American Cancer Prevention (NACP) has been supported under the National Cancer Institute\'s (NCI)-funded Comprehensive Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity (CPACHE) program. Programming included hands-on mentored research and an array of development opportunities. A validated tracking system combining participation records, institutional records, and enrollment/degree attainment from the National Student Clearinghouse documents outcomes. Collectively (2002-2022) NACP engaged 367 AIAN trainees, of whom 237 individuals earned 220 bachelors, 87 masters, and 34 doctoral/professional degrees. Approximately 45% of AIAN doctoral recipients are currently engaged in academic or clinical work, and 10% in industry or tribal leadership. A total of 238 AIAN students participated in mentored research, with 85% demonstrating strong outcomes; 51% attained a degree, and 34% are currently enrolled. Implementation of a robust tracking system documented acceleration in degree attainment over time. Next steps will evaluate the most impactful training activities on student outcomes.

UNASSIGNED: Obesity is a well-established risk factor of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), however the impact of obesity on surgical outcomes for racial and ethnic minority patients with RCC is unclear. This study investigated whether a higher body mass index (BMI) or obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) was associated with worse perioperative outcomes and if there were heterogeneous effects based on race, ethnicity, and neighborhood-level socioeconomic factor.
UNASSIGNED: In this single-center cross-sectional study, medical records of patients who underwent partial or radical nephrectomy between 2010 and 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess associations of BMI and perioperative outcomes [ischemia time, estimated blood loss (EBL), and length of hospital stay].
UNASSIGNED: A total of 432 patients, including 49.8% non-Hispanic White (NHW), 35.0% Hispanic, and 6.9% American Indian (AI) patients, were included. Median [interquartile range (IQR)] BMI was 30.2 (26.3-35.2) kg/m2, and Hispanic (31.5) and AI (32.5) patients had higher median BMI than NHW (29.1) patients (P=0.006). Median ischemia time, EBL, and length of hospital stay were 18.5 (IQR, 15.0-22.4) minutes, 150 (IQR, 75.0-300.0) mL, and 3 (IQR, 2-5) days. BMI ≥35 kg/m2 was associated with a longer ischemia time [>18.5 minutes; odds ratio (OR), 5.17; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.81-14.76; P=0.002], and the association was stronger in NHW than Hispanic patients (BMI continuous OR, 1.13; 95% CI: 1.04-1.22; P=0.004 in NHW and OR, 1.07; 95% CI: 0.98-1.17; P=0.12 in Hispanics). Class I and II/III obese patients had over two-fold increased odds of a larger EBL (>150 mL) than patients with normal weight (OR, 2.17; 95% CI: 1.03-4.59; P=0.04 for class I and OR, 2.24; 95% CI: 1.04-4.84; P=0.04 for class II/III obese patients). This association was stronger in patients from neighborhoods with high social deprivation index (SDI) and in NHW patients (BMI ≥30 vs. <30 kg/m2, OR, 3.53; 95% CI: 1.57-7.97; P=0.002 in high SDI neighborhoods and OR, 2.38; 95% CI: 1.10-5.14; P=0.03 in NHW). BMI was not associated with a longer hospital stay.
UNASSIGNED: In this study, obesity increased likelihood of worse perioperative outcomes, and the associations varied based on race and ethnicity and neighborhood-level socioeconomic factors.

Research advances on effective methods to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer continue to emerge through clinical and genomic research. Most clinical trial and genomic research participants identify as White which limits the generalizability of research findings to non-White populations. With the development and access to technology, digital delivery of salient and tailored health education may provide innovative pathways to increase representation of African Americans (AA) and Hispanics in research. This project focused on the creation of a bioethical sensitive education video aimed at increasing participation in clinical trials and genomic research by bringing together experts from the community, healthcare, biomedical research, and public health. The goal was to utilize existing educational resources to create a tailored message to address AA/Hispanics\' beliefs, values, and bioethical concerns related to participation in clinical and genomic research. Models of behavior change and communication theories were leveraged to frame key components of the message, which then informed the framework for the animated video. Development of the video consisted of six iterative phases: 1) writing sessions; 2) storyboarding; 3) animating; 4) screening/revisions; 5) acceptability testing; 6) finalization. The final animated video is approximately 5 min in length and covers several topics including the goal of clinical research, disparities in research participation, bioethical concerns, and genomic research regulations. Increasing AA and Hispanic participation in clinical and genomic research is imperative to achieving health equity. Tailored messages via short videos may assist in addressing the barriers and facilitators towards research participation and increase intentions to enroll in trials.

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OBJECTIVE: The majority of breast cancer patients are diagnosed with early-stage estrogen receptor (ER) positive disease. Despite effective treatments for these cancers, Black women have higher mortality than White women. We investigated demographic and clinical factors associated with receipt of chemotherapy among those with a discretionary indication who are at risk for overtreatment.
METHODS: Using Georgia Cancer Registry data, we identified females diagnosed with ER positive breast cancer who had a discretionary indication for chemotherapy (2010-2017). We used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) associating patient demographic and clinical characteristics with chemotherapy initiation overall, and comparing non-Hispanic Black (NHB) with non-Hispanic White (NHW) women within strata of patient factors.
RESULTS: We identified 11,993 ER positive breast cancer patients with a discretionary indication for chemotherapy. NHB patients were more likely to initiate chemotherapy compared with NHW women (OR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.28, 1.56). Race differences in chemotherapy initiation were pronounced among those who did not receive Oncotype DX testing (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.31, 1.65) and among those residing in high socioeconomic status neighborhoods (OR = 2.48, 95% CI: 1.70, 3.61). However, we observed equitable chemotherapy receipt among patients who received Oncotype DX testing (OR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.71, 1.14), were diagnosed with grade 1 disease (OR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.74, 1.37), and those resided in rural areas (OR = 1.01, 95% CI: 0.76, 1.36).
CONCLUSIONS: We observed racial disparities in the initiation of chemotherapy overall and by sociodemographic and clinical factors, and more equitable outcomes when clinical guidelines were followed.

UNASSIGNED: Investigating mothers\' health beliefs regarding human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is essential for understanding their decisions regarding vaccinating their daughters against HPV. There is no available validated instrument to measure the health beliefs of Pakistani mothers regarding HPV vaccination for their daughters. The purpose of this study was to translate the Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Scale - Health Belief Model (HPVS-HBM) into Urdu and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the translated Urdu version among Pakistani mothers in Hong Kong.
UNASSIGNED: This was a descriptive correlational study for which a convenience sample of 260 Pakistani women was recruited. The original HPVS-HBM questionnaire was translated from English to Urdu according to Brislin\'s model. A panel of experts reviewed the translated questionnaire and assessed the content validity of the items and the scale. Face validity was assessed in a sample of five Pakistani mothers, while structural validity was examined by an exploratory factor analysis. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were assessed to evaluate the reliability of the translated instrument.
UNASSIGNED: The translated questionnaire demonstrated good face validity and content validity (item-level content validity index: 0.83-1.00; scale-level content validity index: 0.89-1.00). Factor analysis of the 22 items in the scale revealed a three-factor structure (perceived susceptibility, perceived severity and perceived benefits), which accounted for 77.66% of the total variance. The translated questionnaire also showed good internal consistency (Cronbach\'s alpha: 0.93-0.98) and acceptable test-retest reliability (weighted kappa: 0.49-0.96; intra-class correlation coefficient: 0.83-0.93).
UNASSIGNED: The translated Urdu version of the HPVS-HBM demonstrated desirable psychometric properties, indicating that it could be used as a valid and reliable instrument for measuring Pakistani mothers\' health beliefs regarding HPV vaccination for their daughters in Hong Kong.

BACKGROUND: Hispanics and American Indians (AI) have high kidney cancer incidence and mortality rates in Arizona. This study assessed: (1) whether racial and ethnic minority patients and patients from neighborhoods with high social vulnerability index (SVI) experience a longer time to surgery after clinical diagnosis, and (2) whether time to surgery, race and ethnicity, and SVI are associated with upstaging to pT3/pT4, disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS).
METHODS: Arizona Cancer Registry (2009-2018) kidney and renal pelvis cases (n = 4592) were analyzed using logistic regression models to assess longer time to surgery and upstaging. Cox-regression hazard models were used to test DFS and OS.
RESULTS: Hispanic and AI patients with T1 tumors had a longer time to surgery than non-Hispanic White patients (median time of 56, 55, and 45 days, respectively). Living in neighborhoods with high (≥75) overall SVI increased odds of a longer time to surgery for cT1a (OR 1.54, 95% CI: 1.02-2.31) and cT2 (OR 2.32, 95% CI: 1.13-4.73). Race and ethnicity were not associated with time to surgery. Among cT1a patients, a longer time to surgery increased odds of upstaging to pT3/pT4 (OR 1.95, 95% CI: 0.99-3.84). A longer time to surgery was associated with PFS (HR 1.52, 95% CI: 1.17-1.99) and OS (HR 1.63, 95% CI: 1.26-2.11). Among patients with cT2 tumor, living in high SVI neighborhoods was associated with worse OS (HR 1.66, 95% CI: 1.07-2.57).
CONCLUSIONS: High social vulnerability was associated with increased time to surgery and poor survival after surgery.

Breast cancer progression and metastasis involve the action of multiple transcription factors in tumors and in the cells of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and understanding how these transcription factors are coordinated can guide novel therapeutic strategies. Myocardin related transcription factors A and B (MRTFA/B) are two related transcription factors that redundantly control cancer cell invasion and metastasis in mouse models of breast cancer, but their roles in human cancer are incompletely understood. Here, we used a combination of multiplexed immunofluorescence and bioinformatics analyses to show that MRTFA/B are concurrently activated in tumor cells, but they show distinct patterns of expression across different histological subtypes and in the TME. Importantly, MRTFA expression was elevated in metastatic tumors of African American patients, who disproportionately die from breast cancer. Interestingly, in contrast to publicly available mRNA expression data, MRTFA was similarly expressed across estrogen receptor (ER) positive and negative breast tumors, while MRTFB expression was highest in ER+ breast tumors. Furthermore, MRTFA was specifically expressed in the perivascular antigen presenting cells (APCs) and its expression correlated with the expression of the immune checkpoint protein V-set immunoregulatory receptor (VSIR). These results provide unique insights into how MRTFA and MRTFB can promote metastasis in human cancer, into the racial disparities of their expression patterns, and their function within the complex breast cancer TME.