Cancer is a big health issue for Latinos and all people. That’s why Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of Salud America! and the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, partnered with the Mays Cancer Center to create the Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos (ASCL) biennial conference. Read the proceedings from the 2018, 2020, and 2022 ASCL Conferences. The 2024 ASCL Conference on Feb. 21-23, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas, welcomed over 280 prominent researchers, physicians, healthcare professionals, patient advocates, and students from across the globe to address cancer health disparities among Latinos. Conference sponsors included: platinum supporters Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech, and Gilead; silver supporters GMaP Region 3, ...
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 ...
This content is from the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2024 Conference Proceedings."
Increasing Diversity in Pediatric Cancer Clinical Trials
Dr. Paula Aristizabal is Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Medical Director of the International Outreach Program, and Quality Improvement Lead at the University of California San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital. Disparities in pediatric cancer Dr. Aristizabal’s presentation covered the demographic shift in the US, disparities in pediatric cancer, inequities in clinical trial participation in pediatric cancer research, barriers to clinical trial participation in Latinos, and strategies to improve recruitment of Latinos to clinical trials. The Latino population ...
This content is from the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2024 Conference Proceedings."
Residence in a Latino Enclave and Clinical Outcomes in Texas Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Dr. Jeremy Schraw is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Schraw began by pointing out the higher incidence of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) among Latino children, and the poorer overall survival (OS) following diagnosis. Social determinants of health likely contribute to these disparities. In fact, children living in Latino enclaves, defined as neighborhoods with a high proportion of Latino residents, recent immigrants, and linguistically isolated households, have poorer OS after diagnosis of ...
This content is from the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2024 Conference Proceedings."
Task Force: Latino Researchers Against Cancer
This session occurred at 11:15 a.m., Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, at the 4th biennial Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos conference. Dr. Amelie Ramirez is Professor at the University of Texas (UT) San Antonio, Director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research, Chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences at UT Health San Antonio, and Associate Director of Cancer Outreach and Engagement at Mays Cancer Center. Dr. Ramirez’s presentation focused on communicating the mission and first year results of the Task Force: Latino Researchers Against Cancer (TFLRAC). The Task Force’s mission is to meet quarterly for 2 ...
This content is from the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2024 Conference Proceedings."
Integrating Clinical and Genomic Data for Tumor Molecular Profiling in Latino Patients with Cancer
Dr. Enrique I. Velazquez-Villarreal is Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Translational Sciences at Beckman Research Institute and the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center. Multi-omics and colorectal cancer in Latinos Dr. Velazquez-Villarreal’s presentation discussed how multi-omics can be used to understand colorectal cancer disparities in Latino individuals and how global and local ancestry impacts these disparities. He also described clinical and genomic data integration in colorectal cancer disparities and recent technologies used to understand the tumor ...
This content is from the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2024 Conference Proceedings."
Structural Determinants of Health Impacting Latino Cancer Health Disparities: Genetic Cancer Risk Assessment
Dr. Alejandra Hurtado de Mendoza is an Assistant Professor at the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Disparities across the continuum Dr. Hurtado de Mendoza’s presentation focused on disparities in genetic cancer risk assessment, multi-level barriers that Latinos face across the genetic cancer risk assessment continuum, and an example of a multilevel intervention to decrease disparities. The presentation began by discussing how disparities in the genetic cancer risk assessment continuum begin with awareness. Only ...
This content is from the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2024 Conference Proceedings."
The NCI Community Oncology Research Program: Opportunities to Increase Latino Participation in Clinical Trials
Dr. Brenda Adjei is Associate Director of the Office of Healthcare Delivery and Equity Research at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center for Cancer Research. The NCI Community Oncology Research Program Dr. Adjei’s presentation began with a discussion of Latino participation in cancer clinical trials. Diversity in clinical trials is critically important because it generates biomedical knowledge relevant to all, builds trust and trustworthiness, and contributes to reductions in health disparities and equitable research participation. Current underrepresentation in ...
This content is from the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2024 Conference Proceedings."
Conclusion
To eliminate cancer disparities in Latinx populations, Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos brought together researchers, scientists, physicians, healthcare professionals, patient advocates, and students from across the US and Latin America. These presenters shared research advancements, identified gaps, developed actionable goals, updated clinical best practices, described effective community interventions, and detailed professional training programs aimed at addressing inequity. In the process, most of the speakers made recommendations, either specific to their field of study or more broadly. The following are some key recommendations abstracted from their conference ...
