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This content is from the “Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2024 Conference Proceedings.”
Cancer Center Priorities for Addressing Latino Cancer Health Disparities: A Fire-side Chat with Cancer Center Directors
This special session occurred at 9:00 a.m., Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, at the 4th biennial Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos conference.
Dr. Yolanda Sanchez is the Maurice and Marguerite Liberman Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research, Professor in the University of New Mexico (UNM) Department of Internal Medicine Division of Molecular Medicine, and UNM Cancer Center Director and Chief Executive Officer.

Dr. Sanchez discussed the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center (UNMCCC) and its mission to reduce the cancer burden and overcome the tremendous cancer health disparities in New Mexico and the Nation. The UNMCCC serves a unique catchment area with multiethnic populations through respectful, bidirectional engagement and communication. New Mexico has the 3rd highest percentage of American Indians in the US, 23 Sovereign Tribes/American Indian Nations, and the highest percentage of Hispanics/Latinos in the US. Indigenous American Indians and Hispanics share striking similarities in cancer health disparities.
The New Mexico Cancer Research Alliance partners with community-based health systems and oncology providers and conducts ongoing research, education, and training partnerships with American Indian Pueblos and Nations and Hispanic communities. The UNMCCC also partners with Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute for complementary lung cancer prevention, screening, and treatment, as well as tobacco and e-cigarette research. Community outreach and engagement is integral to the work of the UNMCCC, with the goal of impacting and overcoming the disparate patterns of cancer incidence and mortality in New Mexico’s multiethnic, rural, and underserved populations. The UNMCCC also serves as a conduit between the Center and these communities by facilitating cancer research on catchment area priorities through respectful bidirectional engagement.

Dr. Ruben Mesa is President of Enterprise Cancer Service Line Atrium Health, Executive Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Vice Dean for Cancer Programs at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Dr. Mesa began by discussing the history of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which was developed after President Nixon declared the War on Cancer in 1971. The thinking at the time was that cancer would be cured relatively quickly, but clearly the variability of the tumors and patients were severely underestimated. In this way, cancer centers’ focus on working with communities can yield a fuller understanding of many of the factors contributing to this variability. Although Latino individuals have particularities that should be understood in the context of cancer, the heterogeneity in the Latino populace makes community work even more vital to understanding prevention, control, treatment, and survivorship.
As one of the first Latino Cancer Center Directors, Dr. Mesa emphasized the importance of diversity in cancer leadership. The Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center, of which Dr. Mesa is the director, has specialized in implementation science and cancer control for the past 50 years. They have recently partnered with Atrium Health to become one of the largest cancer centers in the country. The Cancer Center also now has cutting edge care-at-home programs, in which not only is cancer care is provided in the home, but initiatives to combat food insecurity, and partnerships with organizations and government programs for continued care as well.
By The Numbers
142
Percent
Expected rise in Latino cancer cases in coming years