Religion, spirituality, and DNA methylation in HPA-axis genes among Hispanic/Latino adults.

Aim: Investigate associations between religion and spirituality (R&S) and DNA methylation of four HPA-axis genes (i.e. 14 CpG sites) among 992 adults from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos cohorts.

The 2021 US Preventive Services Task Force lung cancer screening eligibility criteria disproportionately exclude younger Black patients with lung cancer.

Background: The 2021 US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) lung cancer screening guideline may continue to exclude many younger Black individuals who have not yet accumulated enough smoking pack-years to be eligible for screening. The objective of this study was to evaluate the proportions of Black and White patients with lung cancer, stratified by age at diagnosis, who would have been eligible for lung cancer screening.

Methods: Incident lung cancer cases among Black and White individuals aged 50-80 years with a smoking history in the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS) were identified for analysis.

Cardiovascular disease and stroke following cancer and cancer treatment in older adults.

Background: Cancer survivors can be at risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) because of either their malignancy or its treatment. Although studies linking cancer and CVD exist, few examine risk in older adults, the impact of cancer treatment, or the effect of aspirin on reducing risk in this cohort.

Methods: The authors conducted a secondary analysis of the Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial to investigate the impact of cancer and cancer treatment on a composite CVD end point comprising hospitalization for heart failure (HHF), myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke.

Racial Differences in Breast Cancer Survival Between Black and White Women According to Tumor Subtype: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Purpose: Despite effective early-detection approaches and innovative treatments, Black women in the United States have higher breast cancer mortality rates compared with White women. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to determine the extent of disparities in breast cancer survival between Black and White women according to tumor subtype.

Methods: A comprehensive database search was performed for full-text, English-language articles published from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2022.

Barriers and proposed solutions to at-home colorectal cancer screening tests in medically underserved health centers across three US regions to inform a randomized trial.

Introduction: At-home colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is an effective way to reduce CRC mortality, but screening rates in medically underserved groups are low. To plan the implementation of a pragmatic randomized trial comparing two population-based outreach approaches, we conducted qualitative research on current processes and barriers to at-home CRC screening in 10 community health centers (CHCs) that serve medically underserved groups, four each in Massachusetts and California, and two tribal facilities in South Dakota.

Methods: We conducted 53 semi-structured interviews with clinical and administrative staff at the participating CHCs.

Community Collaboration to Advance Racial/Ethnic Equity in Colorectal Cancer Screening: Protocol for a Multilevel Intervention to Improve Screening and Follow-up in Community Health Centers.

Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening utilization is low among low-income, uninsured, and minority populations that receive care in community health centers (CHCs). There is a need for evidence-based interventions to increase screening and follow-up care in these settings.

Methods: A multilevel, multi-component pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial is being conducted at 8 CHCs in two metropolitan areas (Boston and Los Angeles), with two arms: (1) Mailed FIT outreach with text reminders, and (2) Mailed FIT-DNA with patient support.

Reproductive Factors Related to Childbearing and a Novel Automated Mammographic Measure, V.

Background: We investigated the associations between several reproductive factors related to childbearing and the variation (V) measure (a novel, objective, single summary measure of breast image intensity) by menopausal status.

Methods: Our study included 3,814 cancer-free women within the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and NHSII cohorts. The data on reproductive variables and covariates were obtained from biennial questionnaires closest to the mammogram date.

Addressing Social Risks to Accelerate Health Equity in Cancer Prevention and Control.

Addressing social risks in cancer prevention and control presents a new opportunity for accelerating cancer health equity. As members of the American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO) Cancer Health Disparities Special Interest Group, we describe the current state of science on social risks in oncology research and practice. To reduce and eliminate the unjust burden of cancer, we also provide recommendations for multilevel research examining social risks as contributors to inequities and the development of social risks-focused interventions.

Reproductive risk factors for breast cancer and association with novel breast density measurements among Hispanic, Black, and White women.

Purpose: There are differences in the distributions of breast cancer incidence and risk factors by race and ethnicity. Given the strong association between breast density and breast cancer, it is of interest describe racial and ethnic variation in the determinants of breast density.

Methods: We characterized racial and ethnic variation in reproductive history and several measures of breast density for Hispanic (n = 286), non-Hispanic Black (n = 255), and non-Hispanic White (n = 1694) women imaged at a single hospital.

Women's Information Needs and Educational Preferences Regarding Lung Cancer Screening.

Physicians are less likely to discuss lung cancer screening (LCS) with women, and women have lower awareness of LCS availability. The objective of this qualitative study was to determine information needs, patient-provider communication barriers, and preferences for LCS education among women. Eight semistructured qualitative focus groups were conducted with 28 self-identified women meeting LCS eligibility criteria.

"Does Religious Service Attendance Modify the Relationship between Everyday Discrimination and Risk of Obesity? Results from the Study on Stress, Spirituality and Health".

This study examined the association of everyday discrimination with risk of obesity and the potential modifying effect of religious service attendance. Participants included Black, South Asian, and white women in three cohort studies that belong to the Study on Stress, Spirituality and Health. Logistic regression models estimated odds of obesity classification (BMI ≥ 30) relative to experiences of everyday discrimination.

Age, Body Mass Index, Tumor Subtype, and Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Breast Cancer Survival.

Importance: Black women in the United States have higher breast cancer (BC) mortality rates than White women. The combined role of multiple factors, including body mass index (BMI), age, and tumor subtype, remains unclear.

Objective: To assess the association of race and ethnicity with survival among clinical trial participants with early-stage BC (eBC) according to tumor subtype, age, and BMI.

Breast cancer survivorship experiences among Black women.

Background: Black women experience significant disparities in breast cancer across the care continuum, including survivorship. Ensuring that Black women obtain high-quality follow-up care is critical but understudied. This study was aimed at understanding the experiences and needs of Black women during breast cancer survivorship.

Inequities in referrals to a breast cancer risk assessment and prevention clinic: a mixed methods study.

Background: Inequitable access to personalized breast cancer screening and prevention may compound racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes. The Breast Cancer Personalized Risk Assessment, Education and Prevention (B-PREP) program, located within the Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) Comprehensive Breast Health Center (BHC), provides care to patients at high risk for developing breast cancer. We sought to characterize the differences between BWH primary care patients referred specifically to B-PREP for risk evaluation and those referred to the BHC for benign breast conditions.

Impact of age, race, and family history on COVID-19-related changes in breast cancer screening among the Boston mammography cohort study.

Purpose: We studied women enrolled in the Boston Mammography Cohort Study to investigate whether subgroups defined by age, race, or family history of breast cancer experienced differences in the incidence of screening or diagnostic imaging rates during the COVID-19 lockdown and had slower rebound in the incidence of these rates during reopening.

Methods: We compared the incidence of monthly breast cancer screening and diagnostic imaging rates over during the pre-COVID-19 (January 2019-February 2020), lockdown (March-May 2020), and reopening periods (June-December 2020), and tested for differences in the monthly incidence within the same period by age (< 50 vs ≥ 50), race (White vs non-White), and first-degree family history of breast cancer (yes vs no).

Results: Overall, we observed a decline in breast cancer screening and diagnostic imaging rates over the three time periods (pre-COVID-19, lockdown, and reopening).

Amygdalar activity measured using FDG-PET/CT at head and neck cancer staging independently predicts survival.

Importance: The mechanisms underlying the association between chronic stress and higher mortality among individuals with cancer remain incompletely understood.

Objective: To test the hypotheses that among individuals with active head and neck cancer, that higher stress-associated neural activity (ie. metabolic amygdalar activity [AmygA]) at cancer staging associates with survival.

Advancing health equity through implementation science: Identifying and examining measures of the outer setting.

Background: Implementation science (IS) could accelerate progress toward achieving health equity goals. However, the lack of attention to the outer setting where interventions are implemented limits applicability and generalizability of findings to different populations, settings, and time periods. We developed a data resource to assess outer setting across seven centers funded by the National Cancer Institute's IS Centers in Cancer Control (ISC) Network Program.

Religion/Spirituality and Prevalent Hypertension among Ethnic Cohorts in the Study on Stress, Spirituality, and Health.

Background: Hypertension is a significant public health issue, particularly for Blacks, Hispanics/Latinos, and South Asians who are at greater risk than whites. Religion and spirituality (R/S) have been shown to be protective, but this has been identified primarily in whites with limited R/S measures examined (i.e.

Cancer Treatment Patterns and Factors Affecting Receipt of Treatment in Older Adults: Results from the ASPREE Cancer Treatment Substudy (ACTS).

Introduction: Cancer treatment planning in older adults is complex and requires careful balancing of survival, quality of life benefits, and risk of treatment-related morbidity and toxicity. As a result, treatment selection in this cohort tends to differ from that for younger patients. However, there are very few studies describing cancer treatment patterns in older cohorts.

Bone-Modifying Agents in Early Breast Cancer: Making Sense of Conflicting Data.

The use of adjuvant bone-modifying agents to reduce risk of recurrence in patients with early-stage breast cancer has not been widely embraced because of conflicting data and small absolute benefits. The clinical practice guideline produced jointly by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and Cancer Care Ontario recommends discussion of risks/benefits with postmenopausal patients with early-stage breast cancer about adjuvant bisphosphonates and does not recommend use of adjuvant denosumab to prevent breast cancer recurrence..

A genome-wide association study of mammographic texture variation.

Background: Breast parenchymal texture features, including grayscale variation (V), capture the patterns of texture variation on a mammogram and are associated with breast cancer risk, independent of mammographic density (MD). However, our knowledge on the genetic basis of these texture features is limited.

Methods: We conducted a genome-wide association study of V in 7040 European-ancestry women.

Patient-Reported Experiences of Breast Cancer Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Delay, and Telemedicine Adoption during COVID-19.

Purpose: To evaluate and quantify potential sociodemographic disparities in breast cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the use of telemedicine.

Methods: We fielded a 52-item web-based questionnaire from 14 May 2020 to 1 July 2020 in partnership with several U.S.