PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

MD Anderson launches collaborative initiative to reduce breast cancer disparities in Houston area

Cross-sector effort to lower breast cancer mortality rates among Black women in Harris County

MD Anderson launches collaborative initiative to reduce breast cancer disparities in Houston area
2023-10-05
(Press-News.org) HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center today announced the launch of Texas Health Equity Alliance for Breast Cancer (THEAL), a community-wide health care initiative to reduce breast cancer disparities in the Houston area, particularly for Black women. 

THEAL builds upon the expertise of MD Anderson’s Department of Health Disparities Research in addressing the determinants of cancer disparities while leveraging the cancer prevention and control platform’s experience in leading cross-sector collaboratives for community impact. Using successful models implemented in other cities, particularly in Chicago, the initiative seeks to lower the Black/white breast cancer mortality gap in Harris County by 15% over the next decade.  

“Research shows there are myriad factors contributing to disparities in breast cancer outcomes for women in Harris County, resulting in significantly higher mortality rates among Black women,” said Lorna McNeill, Ph.D., chair of Health Disparities Research at MD Anderson. “The good news is that we can collaboratively identify and address the root causes of these disparities. Working together, with a shared vision, we can create meaningful change that will benefit women of all backgrounds.”  

Based on 2019 data, roughly 650 Black women in Harris County are diagnosed with breast cancer annually, and they face a 30% higher mortality rate from breast cancer than their white counterparts. A 2021 analysis by Susan G. Komen identified delayed screening, limited treatment access and systemic barriers as critical drivers of disparities in Houston. 

The three primary goals of THEAL are:  

Build a collaborative framework to facilitate shared planning, action, and learning among multiple sectors 

Establish a shared data platform to inform intervention development and drive implementation 

Identify and address the underlying causes of breast cancer disparities by leveraging expertise and resources of coalition members 

The core leadership of this county-wide initiative includes MD Anderson Cancer Center, Harris Health System, Texas Southern University, UTHealth  Houston School of Public Health Center for Health Care Data, The University of Texas at Austin Center for Health Communication, University of Houston Population Health, Angels Surviving Cancer, and The Cullen Trust for Health Care, who will serve as a lead convener for this work. 

These organizations are contributing expertise in health systems, population health, data analytics, mammography, patient navigation, academic research, faith-based support and more. 

The work of THEAL is supported by a $3.4M grant from the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, a gift from Houston-based The Cullen Trust for Health Care, and through grateful patient families. 

“Texas Southern University is delighted to join with MD Anderson and our other collaborators to address the long-standing health disparities in breast cancer outcomes among the communities we serve,” said Omonike Olaleye, Ph.D., senior associate vice president for Research & Innovation at Texas Southern University. “This alliance is mission critical for us. We are committed to working collectively to prevent breast cancer, eliminate inequities and improve minority health outcomes in Harris County.” 

Read this press release in the MD Anderson Newsroom.

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
MD Anderson launches collaborative initiative to reduce breast cancer disparities in Houston area

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

In checking chess’s gender bias, researchers find parents and mentors shortchange girls’ potential

2023-10-05
“The Queen’s Gambit” miniseries portrayed the life of a fictional chess prodigy, Beth Harmon, who is continuously underestimated in male-dominated competitions. A team of New York University psychology researchers has now found some “real-life” evidence of what Harmon faced as a younger player: Parents and coaches of youth chess players peg the highest potential rating of girl players to be lower than that of boy players. Moreover, the study’s authors, who included Jennifer Shahade, a two-time US Women’s Chess champion, found ...

Female chess players may experience gender bias from parents, mentors

2023-10-05
Young female chess players often face gender bias both in the male-dominated chess world and among parents and mentors who believe girls have less potential to succeed in chess than boys, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.   “It’s disheartening to see young female players’ potential downgraded, even by the people who are closest to them, like their parents and coaches,” said lead researcher Sophie Arnold, a doctoral student at New York University.  The study, which was published online in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, presents what the researchers say is the first large-scale ...

US cancer centers continue to see chemotherapy shortages, according to update from NCCN

2023-10-05
PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [October 5, 2023] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)—a non-profit alliance of leading cancer centers across the United States—has released a follow-up survey on the ongoing chemotherapy shortages: 72% of the centers surveyed continue to experience a shortage of carboplatin and 59% are still seeing a shortage of cisplatin. Overall, 86% of centers surveyed reported experiencing a shortage of at least one type of anti-cancer drug. View the updated survey results at NCCN.org/platinum-update. The NCCN Best Practices Committee originally shared survey results ...

Announcing 2023 Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and AFAR Research Grants for Junior Faculty

Announcing 2023 Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and AFAR Research Grants for Junior Faculty
2023-10-05
NEW YORK, NY and SANTA BARBARA, CA – The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) and the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research are pleased to announce the 2023 Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and AFAR Research Grants for Junior Faculty recipients. The Research Grant for Junior Faculty provides an early career investigator with up to $150,000 for one to two ...

UNIST student startup sets new global standard for companion animal pet registration

UNIST student startup sets new global standard for companion animal pet registration
2023-10-05
Pireco Co., Ltd., a student-led venture company of UNIST, has accomplished a remarkable feat in establishing an international standard for their multi-biometrics identification solution designed for companion animals. This groundbreaking solution simplifies the process of accurately identifying and registering companion animals by simply scanning the distinctive patterns of ridges and creases on their noses using smartphones. The advent of this pioneering technology sets the stage for global registration ...

How much are you willing to pay for a product or service? It depends on your other options and the given context

2023-10-05
Researchers from Concordia University and Northwestern University published a new Journal of Marketing study that presents the Comparative Method of Valuation as a more accurate way to measure customers’ willingness to pay for a product or service. The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled “Measuring Willingness to Pay: A Comparative Method of Valuation” and is authored by Sharlene He, Eric T. Anderson, and Derek D. Rucker. At the grocery store, a customer may be willing to pay $18 for a bottle of Riesling when comparing it to a $15 bottle ...

Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology study shows promise for patients with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma

Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology study shows promise for patients with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma
2023-10-05
The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology today announced that the Alliance Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) determined that the phase III AMBASSADOR (A031501) trial met one of its dual primary endpoints of disease-free survival (DFS) for the adjuvant treatment of patients with localized muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma (MIUC) and locally advanced urothelial carcinoma. At a pre-specified interim analysis review, pembrolizumab demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful ...

Psychedelics improve mental health, cognition in special ops veterans

2023-10-05
One treatment each of two psychedelic drugs lowered depression and anxiety and improved cognitive functioning in a sample of U.S. special operations forces veterans who sought care at a clinic in Mexico, according to a new analysis of the participants’ charts. The treatment included a combination of ibogaine hydrochloride, derived from the West African shrub iboga, and 5-MeO-DMT, a psychedelic substance secreted by the Colorado River toad. Both are designated as Schedule I drugs under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act. In addition to relieving symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), ...

Interdisciplinary Rice team tackles the future of semiconductors

Interdisciplinary Rice team tackles the future of semiconductors
2023-10-05
HOUSTON – (Oct. 5, 2023) – An interdisciplinary team of Rice University scientists has won a $1.9 million National Science Foundation grant for research on materials that could serve as the basis for next-generation energy-efficient computing devices. The team ⎯ led by Kaiyuan Yang and including co-investigators Ramamoorthy Ramesh, Yimo Han, Douglas Natelson, Shengxi Huang and Lane Martin ⎯ will focus on multiferroics, materials with distinctive electric and magnetic properties that carry “transformative technological potential,” ...

Researchers design a national testing facility to simulate tornadoes, downbursts and gusts; Experiments will help them engineer buildings that can stand up to extreme winds

Researchers design a national testing facility to simulate tornadoes, downbursts and gusts; Experiments will help them engineer buildings that can stand up to extreme winds
2023-10-05
AMES, Iowa – The foundation of a house remains, the basement ripped open and exposed, with the rest of the house blown away. A brick-veneered bank building partially caved in. A collapsed high school gym. Gravestones knocked over. Debris piercing a building.   Partha Sarkar kept hitting next, scrolling through the photo evidence of the destruction he gathered and assessed the day after an EF5 tornado ripped through Parkersburg on May 25, 2008.   Then Sarkar, professor and interim chair of aerospace engineering at Iowa State University, opened a photo showing a house ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Sensitive ceramics for soft robotics

Trends in hospitalizations and liver transplants associated with alcohol-induced liver disease

Spinal cord stimulation vs medical management for chronic back and leg pain

Engineered receptors help the immune system home in on cancer

How conflicting memories of sex and starvation compete to drive behavior

Scientists discover ‘entirely unanticipated’ role of protein netrin1 in spinal cord development

Novel SOURCE study examining development of early COPD in ages 30 to 55

NRL completes development of robotics capable of servicing satellites, enabling resilience for the U.S. space infrastructure

Clinical trial shows positive results for potential treatment to combat a challenging rare disease

New research shows relationship between heart shape and risk of cardiovascular disease

Increase in crisis coverage, but not the number of crisis news events

New study provides first evidence of African children with severe malaria experiencing partial resistance to world’s most powerful malaria drug

Texting abbreviations makes senders seem insincere, study finds

Living microbes discovered in Earth’s driest desert

Artemisinin partial resistance in Ugandan children with complicated malaria

When is a hole not a hole? Researchers investigate the mystery of 'latent pores'

ETRI, demonstration of 8-photon qubit chip for quantum computation

Remote telemedicine tool found highly accurate in diagnosing melanoma

New roles in infectious process for molecule that inhibits flu

Transforming anion exchange membranes in water electrolysis for green hydrogen production

AI method can spot potential disease faster, better than humans

A development by Graz University of Technology makes concreting more reliable, safer and more economical

Pinpointing hydrogen isotopes in titanium hydride nanofilms

Political abuse on X is a global, widespread, and cross-partisan phenomenon, suggests new study

Reintroduction of resistant frogs facilitates landscape-scale recovery in the presence of a lethal fungal disease

Scientists compile library for evaluating exoplanet water

Updated first aid guidelines enhance care for opioid overdose, bleeding, other emergencies

Revolutionizing biology education: Scientists film ‘giant’ mimivirus in action

Genetic variation enhances cancer drug sensitivity

Protective genetic mutation offers new hope for understanding autism and brain development

[Press-News.org] MD Anderson launches collaborative initiative to reduce breast cancer disparities in Houston area
Cross-sector effort to lower breast cancer mortality rates among Black women in Harris County