UT Health San Antonio Gets $4 Million To Improve Cancer Outreach And Outcomes For Latinos

The University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio aims to reduce cancer-related health disparities affecting Hispanic communities in South Texas with a $4.1 million grant from the American Cancer Society.

Improved Health Equity: Latin American Cancer Health Research Center Dr. Amélie Ramirez, Director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research and Associate Director of Cancer Control at the Mays Cancer Center. It will be located at the UT School of Public Health Institute of Health Sciences.

The four-year grant will enable the center to advocate for cancer awareness, screening, and outcomes in the Hispanic community.

"Our new center truly bridges the disparities that prevent Hispanics from having equal access to cancer treatment, prevention, screening, and treatment," Ramirez said in a written statement. "We believe our multi-layered actions—research, training and mentoring, and public education—can eliminate these disparities and improve cancer outcomes, survival, and quality of life for South Texas residents in the future by preventing the progression of cancer."

Grant goals do not include a specific number of patients or individuals that the center hopes to reach. Her focus will be on raising awareness at all levels, from those seeking screening or treatment to researchers unaware of the differences that prevent potential patients from contacting them.

Researchers interested in learning more about the social determinants of health that affect these communities are offered training or mentoring, Ramirez said, which could be key to understanding what prevents a person from getting tested and treated for cancer and beating the disease.

The center added that it will develop a tool to identify these social determinants when examining patients at the Mays Cancer Center, the Primary Care Center and other UT Health clinics in San Antonio, South Texas.

Ramirez also led the community building component to reach as many people as possible through Salud America! Achieving a Health Equity Agenda Targeting the Hispanic Population. Communication with Bexar and South Texas residents is primarily digital through email, social media, and the website.

Hispanics in South Texas are at risk for other cancers than their peers in Texas and the rest of the United States, according to a 2018 study by Ramirez. According to the study, 64% of them were at risk for liver cancer, 46% for uterine cancer and 32% for childhood leukemia.

The Joint Scholars Advisory Board will support community-focused research, potential local policy changes, as well as UT Health's own training and mentoring efforts, and community partnerships.

The council's 19 members range from cancer survivors to lawyers, medical professionals and researchers.

“With this level of community involvement, we hope that the Avanzado Equidad de Salud Center will not only improve cancer treatment and outcomes for the entire population of Latin America and South Texas, but will also train a new generation of cancer and health equity scientists and researchers.” Ramirez said in a statement.

The UT Health grant is part of the American Cancer Society's $54.3 million investment in 89 Discovery Science grants.

"We are proud to announce these new grants and their research projects," William Dowth, Chief Scientist of the Society, said in a press release. "This is exciting because we will be funding research that will improve our understanding of the genetics and risk of cancer, and explore better ways to detect, treat and survive cancer, improving equity and quality of life for people living with cancer."

dany.perez@express-news.net | @DanyaPH

Ruben Mesa, MD, UT Health, San Antonio