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Annual Review of Medicine

Volume 72, 2021

Biological Aspects of Cancer Health Disparities

Abstract

Racial and ethnic disparities span the continuum of cancer care and are driven by a complex interplay among social, psychosocial, lifestyle, environmental, health system, and biological determinants of health. Research is needed to identify these determinants of cancer health disparities and to develop interventions to achieve cancer health equity. Herein, we focus on the overall burden of ancestry-related molecular alterations, the functional significance of the alterations in hallmarks of cancer, and the implications of the alterations for precision oncology and immuno-oncology. In conclusion, we reflect on the importance of estimating ancestry, improving diverse racial and ethnic participation in cancer clinical trials, and examining the intersection among determinants of cancer health disparities.

Keyword(s): aggregate gene expression, ancestry-related biology, epigenetics, gene fusion, immuno-oncology, long noncoding RNA, microRNA, mutation, precision medicine, RNA splicing
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2021-01-27
2025-04-28
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/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-med-070119-120305
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Biological Aspects of Cancer Health Disparities
Annual Review of Medicine 72, 229 (2021); https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-med-070119-120305
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-med-070119-120305
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-med-070119-120305
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