February 21, 2012
Jefferson Opens Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities
By Steve Graff
Overall, cancer rates have gone down in the United States, but disparities in those rates remain among certain groups and minorities. This is true in the Philadelphia region, which has a disproportionately high number of residents suffering from cancers, many of which are preventable and treatable.
That’s why researchers and clinicians at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have established the Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities.
Heading up the center is Jefferson University Hospitals medical oncologist, Edith P. Mitchell, MD, FACP, who has spent her medical career helping individuals in medically underserved areas.
“The first step in the elimination of disparities is to raise awareness through public and professional education about what resources are available to groups in their fight against cancer,” she says.
Changes in lifestyle and getting screened, she says, can have a dramatic impact on outcomes.
Disparate population groups may be characterized by gender, age, race and ethnicity, income, social class, disability, geographic location or sexual orientation. According to the American Cancer Society, African Americans are more likely to develop and die from cancer than any other racial or ethnic group. ASC also reports that Hispanic women have the highest incidence rate for cervical cancer, and rates for liver cancer are about twice as high in Hispanics as in whites.
Such disparities can arise because of a number of things, including socioeconomics, education, overall standard of living, as well as social barriers to cancer prevention, early detection and treatment services, according to the ACS.
The need for research into cancer, and other health care disparities, has become increasingly evident in recent years as doctors and scientists learn more about how slight variations in genetic makeup can have drastic effects on the way cancer invades an individual’s body.
Knowing that these disparities exist can improve how screening processes are established and help doctors understand which treatments will and will not be effective.
Through her work, Dr. Mitchell has demonstrated the importance of community service and outreach, especially to those individuals who may not have the means to seek out more conventional medical advice.
“I have had the opportunity to experience, as a physician and as a researcher, the significance cancer disparities can have on the outcome of a patient's treatment,” said Dr. Mitchell, who is also a Clinical Professor of Medicine and Medical Oncology in the Department of Medical Oncology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University.
“We want all researchers and clinicians to be aware of the disparities that exist in cancer diagnoses among diverse ethnic groups so that they can incorporate these important factors into their research efforts and clinical practice,” she added.