Stand Up To Cancer received a $10 million grant from Exact Sciences to improve colorectal cancer screening, early detection and prevention.
The grant will fund a colorectal cancer Dream Team of researchers, as well as a comprehensive public awareness campaign to increase screenings.
The new Dream Team will be awarded in early 2021 and will identify communities near anchor institutions that serve minority and medically underserved communities, pinpoint the unique local needs of those areas and turn participating at-risk communities into Stand Up To Cancer Zones with high rates of colorectal cancer screening.
The Dream Team will provide free colorectal cancer testing in the identified zones and will study samples collected via approved tests for colorectal cancer, including colonoscopy, CT colonography, flexible sigmoidoscopy, and at-home stool tests that analyze fecal DNA and/or blood. The research will aim to develop better approaches to colorectal cancer interception.
Fellowships for early-career investigators committed to studying health equity and disparities in colorectal cancer will also be funded. Public awareness campaigns will focus on medically underserved communities to increase awareness of the importance of colorectal cancer screening and early detection, and the availability of multiple effective screening options, such as traditional colonoscopy as well as options used at home.
“This funding allows us to bring together institutions, clinicians and communities to address the challenges we face in colorectal cancer screening,” said Nobel laureate Phillip A. Sharp, chair of Stand Up To Cancer’s Scientific Advisory Committee and an institute professor at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s more important than ever to make sure people are informed about both the benefits of colorectal cancer screening and their options.”
Colorectal cancer is treatable in 90% of cases when detected early, yet one in three adults over age 50 are not up-to-date on recommended colorectal cancer screening. The COVID-19 pandemic has further compounded the problem with screening rates dropping significantly due to stay-at-home orders.
The number of colonoscopies and biopsies performed declined by nearly 90% by mid-April 2020 compared to April 2019. Concurrently, new cases of colorectal cancer are occurring at a growing rate among young and middle-aged adults in the U.S., with the number of cases of colorectal cancer in people under 50 expected to almost double by 2030.
The disease disproportionately impacts people of color; Black people have the highest rates of colorectal cancer of any racial or ethnic group in the US. In October 2020, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released a draft recommendation to lower the colorectal cancer screening age from 50 to 45, but educating the public about the benefits of screening, as well as screening options, remains vital.
Research has shown that colorectal cancer screening rates are the lowest in Hispanic communities, with 59% of Hispanics getting screened, compared to 66% of Black people and 69% of white people getting screened.
Black and Hispanic people are typically diagnosed at a later stage in the disease when it is more difficult to treat. These disparities could be driven by financial barriers, lack of insurance, existing health inequities and insufficient information about colorectal cancer and colorectal cancer screening options.
SU2C, along with Exact Sciences, plans to engage with other collaborators to help reach the underserved communities, foster scientific research and guide public participation.
