National Cancer Institute Awards $22M for First Large-Scale Study on African Americans’ Disproportionately High Cancer Death Rate

The National Cancer Institute on Oct. 17 announced a $22 million grant to fund the "Southern Community Cohort Study," the first-ever large-scale study of why African Americans die from cancer at a disproportionately higher rate than other racial groups, the Florida Times-Union reports. African Americans are 33% more likely to die of cancer than Caucasians, and twice as likely as Asian/Pacific Islanders, American Indians or Hispanics (Andino, Florida Times-Union, 10/18). In addition, researchers hope that the study will determine why the Southeast generally has some of the highest cancer rates in the nation, according to Vanderbilt professor and study leader Dr. William Blot (AP/Memphis Commerical Appeal, 10/18). The funding will be distributed over five years to 22 community centers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee to recruit 105,000 participants for the study, which is a collaborative effort of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Meharry Medical College and the International Epidemiology Institute (Bivins, Nashville Tennessean, 10/18). Study participants, who will be between the ages of 40 and 79 and approximately 65% of whom will be black, will be evaluated on lifestyle and medical, occupational and residential characteristics (Florida Times-Union, 10/18).