Racial disparities in endometrial cancer: Where are we after 26 years?

Introduction: Endometrial cancer is the most commonly diagnosed female genital tract malignancy in the United States of America. Racial disparities surrounding this particular disease have been extensively investigated for over 26-years. We sought to determine if research in this area has led to any significant improvements in this disparity.

The evolution of a novel approach to building surgical capacity for cervical cancer in Africa.

The human, financial, and infrastructural resources required to effectively treat invasive cancer of the cervix are grossly inadequate in the African region, inclusive of a paucity of surgeons capable of performing life-saving radical pelvic surgery for early-stage disease, and the requisite medical ecosystem (blood banking, anesthesia, laboratory, imaging, diagnostics, etc.) Death without treatment, therefore, is a common sequela of cervical cancer in Africa. As African American gynaecologic oncology sub-specialists working in Africa and its Diaspora, we set out to find a way to alter these circumstances.

Human Papilloma Virus Distribution Across the African Diaspora.

Purpose: Understanding the distribution of human papilloma virus (HPV) subtypes in limited-resource settings is imperative for cancer prevention strategies in these regions. The objective of our study is to compare the prevalence of cervical HPV genotypes in women across the African diaspora.

Methods: This study was approved by the African Caribbean Consortium (AC3).

Gene Sequencing for Pathogenic Variants Among Adults With Breast and Ovarian Cancer in the Caribbean.

Importance: Rates of breast and ovarian cancer are high in the Caribbean; however, to date, few published data quantify the prevalence of inherited cancer in the Caribbean population.

Objective: To determine whether deleterious variants in genes that characterize the hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome are associated with the development of breast and ovarian cancer in the English- and Creole-speaking Caribbean populations.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This multisite genetic association study used data from germline genetic test results between June 2010 and June 2018 in the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Association of RAD51C germline mutations with breast cancer among Bahamians.

Purpose: RAD51C is known as an ovarian cancer gene; however, its role in breast cancer susceptibility is less clear. As part of a larger study, we assessed the role of germline RAD51C mutations in breast cancer development.

Methods: We studied 387 unselected, BRCA1- and BRCA2-negative, Bahamian breast cancer cases and 653 controls to search for novel genetic associations with breast cancer development.

Race and Ethnicity Influence Survival Outcomes in Women of Caribbean Nativity With Epithelial Ovarian Cancer.

Caribbean immigrants represent one of the largest groups of minorities in the United States (US), yet are understudied. Racial and ethnic disparities among women with ovarian cancer have been reported, but not in immigrant populations. Our objective was to evaluate differences in the clinicopathologic features and survival outcomes of Caribbean-born (CB) immigrants with ovarian cancer, with special focus on the influence of race and ethnicity on these measures.

Short report: Follow-up of Bahamian women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.

Purpose: We sought to determine to what extent the knowledge of carrying a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation influences the uptake of preventive surgeries in Bahamian women, including bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and bilateral mastectomy.

Patients And Methods: The study population consisted of 78 female residents of the Bahamas for whom a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation had been detected between 2004 and 2014. The mean age of the 78 participants at the time of genetic testing was 46 years (age range 22-73 years).

Experience with curative radiotherapy for cervix cancer in the Bahamas for 2006-2016.

Background: Cervix cancer is a significant health problem. As access to quality care in Small Island Developing States improves, and cancer centers become established, providers of care can summarize local experience to benchmark system quality and look for ways to further improve value.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of all cases of cervix cancer managed 2006-2016 at The Cancer Centre Bahamas, in conjunction with Princess Margaret Hospital, Nassau, affiliated with The University of West Indies.

High-risk cervical human papillomavirus infections among human immunodeficiency virus-positive women in the Bahamas.

Background: High-risk (HR) HPV genotypes other than 16 and 18 have been detected in a significant proportion of immunocompromised females. We aim to evaluate the frequency of HR HPV genotypes in a population of HIV-positive Caribbean women.

Methods: One hundred sixty-seven consecutive, non-pregnant, HIV-positive females ≥18 years were recruited in this study.

Multicenter study of human papillomavirus and the human papillomavirus vaccine: knowledge and attitudes among people of African descent.

Objective: To compare knowledge and attitudes of human papillomavirus (HPV) and the vaccine between different cultures of African descent.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 555 African-Americans and Afro-Caribbeans residing in the US and the Bahamas (BHM) was conducted.

Results: General knowledge about HPV and the HPV vaccine differed between the two countries significantly.

The prevalence of cervical cytology abnormalities and human papillomavirus in women infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.

Introduction: The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the major etiologic agent in the development of cervical cancer and its natural history of infection is altered in persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The prevalence of HPV infection and cervical dysplasia in the HIV sero-positive females in the Bahamas is not known. Finding out the prevalence would allow for the establishment of protocols to optimize total care of this population and help prevent morbidity and mortality related to cervical cancer.