Abstract IA44: Equity and access: Looking upstream to make lasting improvements in cancer outcomes

Abstract

Abstract Many cancer researchers are trained to quantify disparities between racial groups and to identify race as the risk factor. However, if we look upstream, we can identify that structural racism, not race, is a fundamental cause of racial inequity. Likewise, we frequently conceptualize access with a downstream lens, focusing on access to clinical trials or treatment, and we ignore upstream factors such as equitable access to economic opportunity and racial justice. Cancer disparities start where we live, learn, work, and play. These upstream factors, often referred to as the social determinants of health, are increasingly acknowledged, but not well integrated into cancer research and intervention efforts. Examples from recent research will be presented that highlight the role of upstream factors, especially neighborhood factors, in creating and sustaining cancer inequities. Suggestions will be provided for how cancer research can expand beyond our downstream biomedical frameworks in order to correctly identify and intervene on upstream factors that cause inequities in cancer outcomes. Citation Format: Sandi L. Pruitt. Equity and access: Looking upstream to make lasting improvements in cancer outcomes [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: Thirteenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2020 Oct 2-4. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(12 Suppl):Abstract nr IA44.