Through a Minority Institution/Cancer Center Partnership Grant, the UMass Boston and DF/HCC collaborate to address cancer health disparities.
According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), members of minority racial/ethnic groups in the United States are more likely to have a low socioeconomic status and be medically underserved (that is, to have little or no access to effective health care) than Whites, and limited access to quality healthcare is a major contributor to disparities.
Although cancer deaths have declined for both Whites and African-Americans/Blacks living in the United States, African-Americans/Blacks continue to suffer the greatest burden for each of the most common types of cancer. For all cancers combined, the death rate is 11% higher for African-Americans/Blacks than for Whites. (Source: American Association for Cancer Research, 2024)
The number of new cases of cancer is 440.5 per 100,000 men and women per year, based on 2017-2021 cases. (Source: National Cancer Institute, 2022)
Number of new cancer cases & deaths each year
Per 100,000 persons, by race: all cancers
Sources:
SEER 22 2017–2021, Age-Adjusted Rate per 100,000;
U.S. Mortality 2018–2022, Age-Adjusted Rate per 100,000
A four-minute video from the National Cancer Institute titled “Cancer Health Disparities | Did You Know?” offers more information on how cancer affects people from different populations and groups.
Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity
The UMass Boston – DF/HCC Partnership is grateful to the Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity (PACHE) for the funding that makes our partnership possible.
PACHE is an NCI-funded program that enables institutions serving underserved health disparity populations and underrepresented students (ISUPS) and NCI-designated cancer centers to train scientists from diverse backgrounds in cancer research and to effectively deliver cancer advances to underserved communities. The institutions in each partnership are expected to work collaboratively to:
- Increase the cancer research and cancer research education capacity of the ISUPSs
- Increase the number of students and investigators from underrepresented populations engaged in cancer research
- Improve the effectiveness of cancer centers in developing and sustaining research programs focused on cancer health disparities and increase the number of investigators and students conducting cancer health disparities research
- Develop and implement cancer-related activities that benefit the surrounding underserved communities