Correlates of health-related quality of life in African Americans diagnosed with cancer: a review of survivorship studies and the Detroit research on cancer survivors cohort.

Advances in cancer screening and treatment have improved survival after a diagnosis of cancer. As the number of cancer survivors as well as their overall life-expectancy increases, investigations of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) are critical in understanding the factors that promote the optimal experience over the course of survivorship. However, there is a dearth of information on determinants of HRQOL for African American cancer survivors as the vast majority of cohorts have been conducted predominantly among non-Hispanic Whites.

Housing instability and psychological distress in African American cancer survivors: findings from the Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors study.

Purpose: As health care systems seek to screen for and address housing instability in patient populations, robust evidence linking unstable housing to patient-reported outcomes is needed. Housing instability may increase psychological distress in cancer survivors, potentially more so among African American cancer survivors who are also likely to experience disproportionate burden of housing instability. The purpose of this analysis was to estimate associations between housing instability and psychological distress in African Americans diagnosed with cancer.

The impact of preexisting comorbidities on receipt of cancer therapy among women with Stage I-III breast cancer in the Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors cohort.

Purpose: Pre-existing comorbidities play an important role in choice of cancer treatment. We retrospectively evaluated the relationship between pre-existing comorbidities and receipt of local and systemic therapy in a cohort of Black women with Stage I-III breast cancer.

Methods: The study population for analysis included 1169 women with Stage I-III disease enrolled in the Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors (ROCS) cohort.

Financial Hardship by Age at Diagnosis Including in Young Adulthood among African American Cancer Survivors.

Background: Financial hardship is most common among cancer survivors with the fewest financial resources at diagnosis; however, little is known about the financial outcomes of young adult (YA) survivors (ages 20-39 at diagnosis), despite their having fewer financial reserves than older adults.

Methods: We utilized data from 3,888 participants in the population-based Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors cohort. Participants self-reported several forms of material and behavioral financial hardship (MFH and BFH, respectively).

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on African American cancer survivors.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had profound effects on population health to date. African American cancer survivors are particularly vulnerable to developing severe consequences; therefore, understanding the impact of the virus on this patient population is critical.

Methods: The Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors cohort is a unique effort to understand the determinants of poor outcomes in African American cancer survivors.

Neighborhood walkability and body mass index in African American cancer survivors: The Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors study.

Background: Extant evidence links neighborhood walkability with obesity-related health in the general population. This association likely exists in cancer survivors, but research is limited. Furthermore, a disproportionate obesity burden in African American cancer survivors warrants subgroup-specific analyses.

Work changes and individual, cancer-related, and work-related predictors of decreased work participation among African American cancer survivors.

African American cancer survivors disproportionately experience financial difficulties after cancer. Decreased work participation (going from being employed full time to part time or from employed to not employed) can contribute to financial hardship after cancer but employment outcomes among African American cancer survivors have not been well described. This study estimates the prevalence of work changes and identifies factors associated with decreased work participation among African American cancer survivors.

Patterns of cancer family history and genetic counseling eligibility among African Americans with breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancers: A Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors cohort study.

Background: Family history (FH) remains one of the strongest risk factors for many common cancers and is used to determine cancer genetic counseling (CGC) eligibility, but the understanding of familial cancer patterns in African Americans is limited.

Methods: This study evaluated cancer FH among African Americans with invasive breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, or colorectal cancer (CRC) in the Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors (ROCS) cohort. Associations between participant cancer type, site-specific FH, and meeting national guidelines for CGC were evaluated via logistic regression.

Physical activity and quality of life in African American cancer survivors: The Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors study.

Background: The benefit of regular exercise in improving cancer outcomes is well established. The American Cancer Society (ACS) released a recommendation that cancer survivors should engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA) per week; however, few report meeting this recommendation. This study examined the patterns and correlates of meeting ACS PA recommendations in the Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors (ROCS) cohort of African American cancer survivors.