Understanding Of Cancer Prevention Research Articles

The brown university cancer prevention and survivorship curriculum: A case study on program development in an internal medicine residency.

11031 Background: Advances in screening, early detection, and treatment have increased the number of cancer survivors. Cancer survivors have a unique set of medical, psychosocial, physical, and financial challenges. Though it is critical for provider teams to be attuned and equipped to address these issues, we identified two training programs in this discipline. Medical residency clinical education does not fully explore the role of cancer preventative services and survivorship experiences available to patients and their families. We developed an elective at Alpert Medical School at Brown University/Lifespan Internal Medicine Residency Program (Brown) to improve medicine residents’ knowledge and clinical skills on different aspects of the cancer control continuum, with a focus on prevention, early detection, survivorship and surveillance. Methods: In 2020, a team of Brown internal medicine (IM) residents, faculty and one hematology oncology (heme/onc) fellow examined the existing cancer prevention and survivorship infrastructure, identified key faculty and clinics, and examined existing programs at peer institutions. A needs assessment was completed by Brown IM residents and heme/onc fellows. We then designed the Cancer Prevention & Survivorship Elective, an innovative and novel educational elective for medical residents to promote interest, awareness, and understanding of cancer prevention and survivorship. The 6 module one month elective features didactics and clinical experiences offered via a live and independent study fashion. The elective brought together 27 disciplines, 64 faculty lecturers from 10 peer institutions across the United States and included 20 unique clinics. Residents completed anonymous pre- and post-course surveys to measure their understanding and degree of confidence in different aspects of cancer prevention and survivorship, not limited to surveillance, health disparities and global perspective, primary and secondary prevention, late and long-term effects, and quality of life. Results: In January 2023, ten residents, ranging from first- to third-year IM and medicine-pediatrics, participated in the live elective. Two IM residents have registered to complete the elective via independent study in 2023. To date, the Cancer Prevention and Survivorship Elective has improved IM residents’ confidence, comfort and clinical skills in treating patients along the cancer care continuum. Conclusions: This curricula serves as an example for inter-institutional collaboration, and highlights the need for a multidisciplinary approach when caring for patients at high-risk of developing cancer and surviving cancer.

Discovering Potential Anti-Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Mechanisms from Kochiae Fructus Using Network-Based Pharmacology Analysis and Experimental Validation.

The natural product Kochiae Fructus (KF) is the ripe fruit of Kochia scoparia (L.) Schrad and is renowned for its anti-inflammatory, anticancer, anti-fungal, and anti-pruritic effects. This study examined the anticancer effect of components of KF to assess its potential as an adjuvant for cancer treatment. Network-based pharmacological and docking analyses of KF found associations with oral squamous cell carcinoma. The molecular docking of oleanolic acid (OA) with LC3 and SQSTM1 had high binding scores, and hydrogen binding with amino acids of the receptors suggests that OA is involved in autophagy, rather than the apoptosis pathway. For experimental validation, we exposed SCC-15 squamous carcinoma cells derived from a human tongue lesion to KF extract (KFE), OA, and cisplatin. The KFE caused SCC-15 cell death, and induced an accumulation of the autophagy marker proteins LC3 and p62/SQSTM1. The novelty of this study lies in the discovery that the change in autophagy protein levels can be related to the regulatory death of SCC-15 cells. These findings suggest that KF is a promising candidate for future studies to provide insight into the role of autophagy in cancer cells and advance our understanding of cancer prevention and treatment.

European Cancer Summit 2022 Submission for Prevention, Early Detection and Screening NetworkCancer prevention and care for people experiencing homelessness: barriers and facilitators at system, provider, and individual level in four European countries

BackgroundPeople experiencing homelessness (PEH) have a higher prevalence of adverse health outcomes and premature mortality compared to the general population, including a higher burden of cancer and cancer-specific mortality (Thomas, 2012). These outcomes are associated with several etiological factors and may lead to significant barriers to accessing primary and secondary prevention and community health services. The CANCERLESS project (EU Horizon 2020) aims to enable PEH in Europe to access cancer prevention measures at an early stage by developing a novel care model, the Health Navigator Model (HNM). Implementing this co-designed person-centered and community-based intervention may be a way to address the growing health and social disparities in PEH and promote their timely access to cancer prevention services. MethodsTo qualitatively adapt the HNM to structural conditions in four European healthcare systems, we collected data through 69 semi-structured interviews between August and October 2021 with PEH, both with and without direct experiences of cancer, as well as with health and social care professionals. Interviews conducted by partners in Austria, Greece, Spain, and the United Kingdom were transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed utilizing the approach set out by Saldaña (2021). ResultsWe derived the two overarching themes (1) Experiences and understanding of cancer prevention and treatment, and (2) Considerations for program intervention. While cancer was a major source of worry, participants’ responses indicated that PEH generally had very limited knowledge and understanding of cancer symptoms and cancer prevention. Across all settings, programs and activities for cancer prevention geared towards PEH were described as effectively non-existent, and very few participants experiencing homelessness recalled being invited to a screening appointment. As a result, health and social care professionals in some settings indicated that cancer in people experiencing homelessness was often missed in the early stages, and instead only picked up when the severity of symptoms intensified. ConclusionsAs cancer-specific knowledge among PEH is limited, engagement on educational and awareness-building levels in this population is needed. To achieve this, communication around cancer should be multilingual, accessible, and simple, while medical staff should be trained to provide more inclusive health services (Hauff & Secor-Turner, 2014).

Barriers to access cancer prevention services for the homeless population in four European countries

Abstract Background People experiencing homelessness (PEH) are known to have increased burden of cancer and higher cancer-related mortality when compared to the general population. These outcomes are linked to a variety of etiological factors, as well as the existence of significant barriers in accessing cancer prevention services. The aim of this study was to better understand current practices and knowledge relating to cancer prevention among PEH, health professionals and social care workers. Methods During autumn 2021, a cross-national qualitative study was conducted within the framework of the Horizon 2020 funded CANCERLESS project. Data were collected in Austria, Greece, Spain and the UK through semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed in accordance with the approach set out by Saldaña (2021). Results In total, 69 interviews were conducted with a sample comprising 15 professionals working in homelessness support services, 19 health professionals, and 35 PEH. Two overarching themes relating to the research question were identified, namely (a) experiences and understanding of cancer prevention and treatment, and (b) considerations for program intervention. While cancer was a major source of concern, tailored cancer prevention programs for the homeless population were described as effectively non-existent, and very few homeless participants recalled being invited to a screening appointment. Health professionals also indicated that because of barriers to health care, opportunities for the early diagnosis of cancer among PEH were often being missed. Conclusions The results indicate that PEH have limited knowledge around the importance of cancer prevention programs, and that more focused input on the part of health and social care services is required in this area. Culturally sensitive and person-centered approaches should be adopted to facilitate access to cancer prevention for PEH. Key messages • Specialized cancer prevention and health care pathways that take account of the living conditions and support needs of PEH should be established to improve health and cancer-related outcomes. • Cancer prevention programs should focus on improving health literacy by using accessible and tailored approaches, both for PEH and those that work directly with the homeless population.

Using implementation science to advance cancer prevention in India.

Oral, cervical and breast cancers, which are either preventable and/or amenable to early detection and treatment, are the leading causes of cancer-related morbidity and mortality in India. In this paper, we describe implementation science research priorities to catalyze the prevention and control of these cancers in India. Research priorities were organized using a framework based on the implementation science literature and the World Health Organization's definition of health systems. They addressed both community-level as well as health systems-level issues. Community-level or "pull" priorities included the need to identify effective strategies to raise public awareness and understanding of cancer prevention, monitor knowledge levels, and address fear and stigma. Health systems-level or "push" and "infrastructure" priorities included dissemination of evidence- based practices, testing of point-of-care technologies for screening and diagnosis, identification of appropriate service delivery and financing models, and assessment of strategies to enhance the health workforce. Given the extent of available evidence, it is critical that cancer prevention and treatment efforts in India are accelerated. Implementation science research can generate critical insights and evidence to inform this acceleration.

3IN - A Lifetime in Paradise

ABSTRACT Although the global burden of cancer is not known with precision, it is certain that it has doubled over the last 25 years and is set to double again before 2030. This period has also witnessed unprecedented advances in knowledge of Oncology from understanding causes, both lifestyle and biological, to the enormous progress in developing effective treatments for many forms of cancer. However, the contrast in diagnosis, treatment and outcomes between the high-resource and low-resource countries is dramatic. This is a particularly important issue since the pattern of cancer globally in the foreseeable future will be heavily dependent on what happens in China, India and Africa, where half of the world's population currently live. Africa presents the biggest challenge with population growth and life expectancy increasing in many countries as the toll of AIDS declines. Studying and striving to understand these challenges has been my life's work. It is bad to have cancer and worse to have cancer if you are poor. The gap between rich and poor, highly educated and less educated and the North-South divide is substantial and continuing to grow. Radical solutions are urgently needed: the status quo is not an appropriate response. New models are needed to cope with and improve this situation: no single source of philanthropy has the means to solve this problem. It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that there is a need for a major Private-Public partnership, involving a number of sources from different arenas, to make the necessary progress with the briefest delay. Public and Private organisations frequently have an underlying suspicion of each other that must be overcome in the interests of improving cancer care and outcome worldwide. Health is not a competition. The situation is dramatic and urgent and it behoves all parties to put this frequently deep-rooted suspicion behind them and develop an effective collaboration to improve this key aspect of Public Health throughout the world. Why the title of this article? I have never woken up on a Monday morning and wished that I was not going to work. I enjoy enormously what I have been doing and find fulfilment in contributing in some small way to a better understanding of cancer prevention and improving the outcome of patients with cancer. However, there is lots more to be done. Disclosure: The author has declared no conflicts of interest.

Literacy and health literacy as defined in cancer education research: A systematic review

Background Limited literacy and health literacy are associated with lack of cancer screening and later stage cancer diagnoses. Objective To systematically review the literature for definitions of literacy and health literacy as related to patient access, use, and comprehension of cancer prevention and treatment education. Methods Original research articles written from 1992 to 2006 inclusive with the terms health literacy and/or literacy in the title, abstract or key words and explicitly linked to cancer information were found by searching MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CSA Sociological Abstracts, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). Results A final sample of 78 studies was included in this review. Fortyfive articles mentioned literacy, seven were on health literacy, and 26 discussed both literacy and health literacy. Only 15 articles (19.2 per cent) defined literacy and/or health literacy. Conclusion This systematic review indicates that definitions of literacy and health literacy are not being used consistently in the cancer education literature. Best practice definitions of literacy and health literacy are important, especially when screening individuals for their understanding of cancer prevention and treatment information.

Social Identity and Health: An Intergroup Communication Approach to Cancer

This article describes the ways in which group identifications and stereotypes can inform our understanding of cancer prevention and treatment as well as more general social processes surrounding the experience of cancer. From a perspective grounded in social identity theory, we describe the ways in which understanding primary identities (i.e., those associated with large social collectives such as cultural groups), secondary identities (i.e., those associated with health behaviors), and tertiary identities (i.e., those associated with cancer) can help explain certain cancer-related social processes. We forward a series of propositions to stimulate further research on this topic.