The Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University School of Medicine will launch the nation’s largest study of African American cancer survivors to better understand disproportionately high incidence and mortality from cancer and its impact on this specific patient population.
The study is being funded with a five-year, $9 million grant from the National Cancer Institute.
“This study is uniquely poised to investigate the major factors affecting African-American cancer survivors,” Douglas Lowy, acting director of NCI, said in a statement.
“Efforts like this will help us move toward bridging the gap of cancer disparities, ensuring that advances in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment reach all Americans.”
Principal Investigators Ann Schwartz, professor and deputy center director, and Terrance Albrecht, professor and associate director for population sciences at Karmanos and Wayne State, will lead the research.
According to Schwartz and Albrecht, the Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors (Detroit ROCS) study will include 5,560 cancer survivors to better understand major factors affecting cancer progression, recurrence, mortality and quality of life in African American cancer survivors.
African Americans continue to experience disproportionately higher cancer incidence rates than other racial/ethnic groups in the United States. They are also diagnosed with more advanced-stage disease and experience higher cancer mortality rates than other groups.
The Detroit ROCS study will focus on lung, breast, prostate and colorectal cancers—the four most common cancers—each of which is marked by poorer survival rates among African Americans than whites.
A unique aspect of this study is the inclusion of 2,780 family members to understand how a cancer diagnosis affects the mental, physical and financial health of those providing care.
The study also brings an added benefit to doctors who treat African American cancer patients.
An earlier pilot study, supported by a $400,000 grant from GM Foundation and additional funds from Karmanos Cancer Institute, made it possible for Karmanos’ scientists to collect the data necessary to secure the NCI funding for the larger study.
