Abstract PO-046: Building the country's first gynecologic cancer disparity SPORE: A labor of love

Abstract

The NCI P20 SPORE aims to support the feasibility, development and planning activities to build cancer research programs with a dedicated translational focus. The Northwestern University Cancer Health Equity Research SPORE (NU-CHERS) is entering its second year of collaboration with the Lurie Cancer Center and John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County (SHCC). NU-CHERS is dedicated to conducting translational research on gynecologic cancer disparities experienced by women of color in Chicago. This presentation will report the challenges and successes of establishing the nation's first gynecologic cancer disparity SPORE, focused on understanding the clinical disparities experienced by women in Chicago, to improve health outcomes and build trusting reciprocal relationships with the community. Success of NU-CHERS hinges on local partnerships to achieve the elimination of gynecologic cancer disparities. The Lurie Cancer Center has thirty years of experience in developing and implementing cancer research programs and infrastructure. SHCC is a publicly funded hospital that provides access to healthcare to patients, including the uninsured, through a sliding scale based on income or inability to afford insurance deductibles. SHCC also serves a diverse patient population, making it an ideal community partner to facilitate a deeper understanding of gynecologic cancer disparities in the region and develop a richly diverse specimen biobank. NU-CHERS leverages these partnerships to advance research specific to underrepresented groups most impacted by gynecologic cancer disparities that will ultimately establish equitable access to precision medicine oncologic treatments. Through partnerships and infrastructure development, our team has identified lessons learned, opportunities for improvement and challenges requiring even more courage to achieve mandated milestones. For example, for the crucial step of building a robust biobank of annotated specimens, NU-CHERS supported SHCC in adapting protocols to meet local site constraints, as well as aligning data collection capabilities within clinical constraints versus research interests. Other important program achievements fall under the categories of fostering collaborations with communities through partnership with trusted healthcare organizations to facilitate education and reciprocity; best practices for establishing a multi-site research initiative with a Single Institutional Review Board (sIRB); and advancing the work of research projects during a pandemic. Sharing these findings advances the work of eliminating cancer disparities by providing a blueprint for researchers to improve upon for their collaborative cancer disparities programs. NU-CHERS is committed to establishing strong local partnerships and infrastructure in the community and thus legitimizing translational research to leverage basic science discoveries into clinical practice improvements through all the tools afforded by basic and population science researchers. Citation Format: Denisha R. Brown, Laura Tom, Magdalena Nava, Catherine A. O'Brian, Ivy Leung, Rabih Dahdouh, Edgardo Ramirez, Araceli Estrada, Sankirtana Danner, Cassandra Osei, Will Dunne, Sharon Post, Nihmot Adebayo, Ann Yau, Terri Fraterrigo, Melissa A Simon. Building the country's first gynecologic cancer disparity SPORE: A labor of love [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: 14th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2021 Oct 6-8. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-046.