Research

Engaging Research to Achieve Cancer Care Equity

ERACE Research Award

ConcertAI is sponsoring the Engaging Research to Achieve Cancer Care Equity (ERACE) Research Award. This award will provide early-stage career research investigators with monetary support and access to one of the most comprehensive cancer patient datasets available for research purposes in the United States.

The award is intended to support research aimed at examining potential differences in treatment patterns, outcomes, clinical practice, genomics, safety, and other issues related to cancer care among populations with existing disparities, particularly those that exist among racial and ethnic groups, which could inform strategies to eliminate cancer health disparities. The award will be granted based on individual merit and the candidate’s potential for long term impact in cancer disparity research.

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Health Disparities in Cancer Care

Minorities in the US bear a disproportionate burden of cancer compared with other population groups. The health disparities and measurable differences in outcomes manifest across the cancer care continuum, from prevention and diagnosis, through treatment, monitoring and mortality.

This understanding guided ConcertAI to form ERACE (Engaging Research to Achieve Cancer Care Equity), a multidisciplinary initiative to better understand cancer disparities and create innovative solutions to eliminate them.

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ERACE Advisory Board

ERACE has partnered with institutions and investigators in cancer inequities

Otis W. Brawley, MD

Otis Webb Brawley is an American physician and the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Oncology and Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University. He served as Chief Medical and Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of the American Cancer Society from 2007 to 2018.

Tuya Pal, MD

Tuya Pal is Associate Director of Cancer Health Disparities and Ingram Professor of Cancer Research at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, a practicing Clinical Geneticist focused on Inherited Cancers, and Professor of Medicine at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Christopher Lathan, MD, MS, MPH

Chris Lathan is a Medical Director at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a Faculty Director at the Cancer Care Equity Program, Pulmonary Oncologist and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Erica Warner, ScD, MPH

Dr. Warner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an Assistant Investigator at MGH. She is a member of the Dana-Farber Harvard Cancer Center in the Cancer Epidemiology and Risk and Health Disparities Programs.

Measurable Differences Among Minorities

 
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Black American women are 2x as likely to be diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) compared to white women.

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Black American men are 37% more likely to develop lung cancer than white men.

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Hispanic men are 10% less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than non-Hispanic white men.

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American Indian/Alaska Native men are 40% more likely to have stomach cancer than white men, and 2x as likely to die from it.

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Liver cancer death rate is 60% higher in Asian Americans compared to whites.

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Racial Disparities in Performance Status

A new study by ConcertAI based on patient-reported outcomes makes another compelling case for addressing disparities in treatment outcomes and racially biased access to clinical trials – and for why a new research focus is imperative.

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Methods

Retrospective Study of Self-Assessed Performance Status (ECOG)

Background
  • Clinical trials lack adequate number of racial minorities.
  • Performance status often a criterion for clinical research.
  • Poor performance status can exclude patients from clinical trial participation.
Patient in Study
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  • 55.4% White
  • 38.0% Black
Results

Black patients overall reported higher average ECOG scores and greater difficulty performing daily functions than White patients.

Patients reporting not being able to take care of themselves

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Blacks

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Whites

Conclusion

Significant racial disparities exist in performance status at an initial visit to an oncology clinic and, for Black patients, could mean:
• Lower quality medical care pre-diagnosis
• Poorer outcomes
• Exclusion from clinical trials

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Mission

ERACE is part of ConcertAI’s commitment to move beyond descriptions of differences in cancer outcomes towards achievement of cancer health equity by funding innovative research and technologies across the care continuum in order to drive more equitable care and associated outcomes and make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients from underrepresented backgrounds.

Use RWD for Insights into Health Disparities
Rethink Research Questions
Redesign Studies
Change How Clinical Trials are Run

Patient Registry

The ERACE Patient Registry is foundational to its mission of eliminating inequities.

The registry provides a real-world view of potential differences in clinical practice, patient outcomes, safety, and comparative effectiveness among cancer patients of color and other marginalized groups.

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Research & Grants

The ERACE Accelerator Program will provide cancer research scientists with access to the one of the most comprehensive cancer patient registries in the United States comprising of racial or ethnic groups.

The Award will be given based on individual merit and is intended to support research by investigators on scientific questions that examine potential differences in clinical practice, patient outcomes, safety, or comparative effectiveness among cancer patients of color and other marginalized groups to reduce or eliminate racial health disparities.

Learn more about ERACE