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UNM to study breast cancer in Latinas: $1.5 million grant allows center to focus on health disparities, treatment optionsJul 17, 2010 (The Santa Fe New Mexican - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- There are a disproportionate number of Latinas who experience the more severe cases of breast cancer, according to a news release from The University of New Mexico's Cancer Center. The center recently was awarded funding from the National Institutes of Health Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities program to study why this is and perhaps determine successful prevention and treatment methods. "I think it's terrific," said Dr. Linda Cook, who is a researcher at the center. "It's an important grant to (study) some of the health disparities that we see in breast cancer. I think it's going to tell us a lot about the health disparities with breast cancer among Latinas and it's going to tell us more about breast cancer in general, which is just terrific." The $1.5 million grant will be used for a five-year study to be conducted by researchers from the UNM Cancer Center, the Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Care Alliance, the University of Washington and the Sea Mar Community Health Center. According to a news release, UNM Cancer Center was chosen to be part of the research program because of New Mexico's large and diverse Latina population. Cook said in a recent phone interview that the caliber of the researchers at UNM and the excellent resources the center has are other reasons why it was chosen. "Our overall goal is to really understand the different types of breast cancer that are found in the Latina population and how we can best implement prevention measures and also treatment measures," Cook said. "(Latinas) are an understudied group in breast cancer to date. We're hoping to address this problem." She noted that the National Institutes of Health Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities program has awarded funding for studies on various health disparities among different ethnic populations. "This is part of a broader program to, in general, address health disparities in the United States," Cook said. Cook is a full-time researcher who specializes in breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers. "All of those cancers are considered reproductive cancers; they're all hormone-related cancers," Cook explained. "I've always been interested in and studied hormones with respect to cancer." The researchers have already began the preliminary process for the study and will soon begin collecting breast cancer tissue samples, doing medical record reviews, laboratory testing and analysis. The results from the study will benefit Latinas suffering from breast cancer all over the nation. "I think it's really important to study the Latina population," Cook said. "This is a group in our society that really needs to be at the forefront of some of these research initiatives because they're very important. I think it's terrific that there is this special program that supports grants in health disparities study." Contact Ana Maria Trujillo at 986-3084 or [email protected]. To see more of The Santa Fe New Mexican, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.santafenewmexican.com/. Copyright (c) 2010, The Santa Fe New Mexican Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544). |