OU Launches Initiative to Improve Cancer Prevention and Detection, Combat Tobacco Use

University of Oklahoma researchers are working to understand why cancer screening and early detection rates are significantly lower in Oklahoma and are taking steps to reverse those numbers.

Adherence to screening guidelines increases the likelihood of detecting cancer early when treatments are more effective. Oklahoma ranks poorly in screening rates, including 48^th worst in the nation for colon cancer screening and 39^th worst for prostate cancer screening. In turn, the state has the fourth-highest cancer death rate in the United States, especially from prostate, colon and lung cancers. Oklahoma also has a high rate of smoking, which causes 20% of all cancers and 30% of all cancer deaths.

OU Health Sciences researchers have received $5.6 million in funding, including a four-year, $4 million grant from the American Cancer Society and a $1.6 million match from OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, to improve Oklahomans health outcomes.

“An overarching aim of this grant is to address the root causes of cancer disparities, with an emphasis on populations that have a higher incidence of cancer in Oklahoma,” said Darla Kendzor, Ph.D., co-director of the TSET Health Promotion Center (HPRC) at OU Health Sciences and a professor of family medicine in the OU College of Medicine. “This grant will also support research training for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, preparing them for cancer-focused research careers.”

Within those two aims, the research team has designed four specific research projects that address social determinants of health – the non-medical factors that affect a person’s health and well-being, such as income, employment status, access to health care and health insurance coverage.

Two projects seek to improve rates of screening for colon cancer and prostate cancer. One, led by Jordan Neil, Ph.D., HPRC member and assistant professor of family and preventive medicine in the OU College of Medicine, will involve a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of early screening for prostate cancer among African Americans. Neil will also test the effectiveness of an app created at HPRC that encourages screening while addressing barriers to accessing care. Among African Americans in Oklahoma, cancer death rates are 27% higher than in the United States overall.

Mark Doescher, M.D., a professor of family and preventive medicine at the OU College of Medicine and associate director, Community Outreach and Engagement, for OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, will lead the effort to increase colon cancer screening among Native Americans. While the use of home screening tests has increased somewhat in Tribal nations, there is still a low rate of follow-up diagnostic colonoscopy when the home-based test suggests the presence of cancer. Doescher’s team will study the effectiveness of a navigation system in which providers help patients to overcome barriers to obtaining a colonoscopy.

The third and fourth projects of the grant address tobacco use among populations with higher rates of use. These projects are led by HPRC researchers Julia McQuoid, Ph.D., assistant professor of family and preventive medicine, and Amy Cohn, Ph.D., professor of pediatrics, both at the OU College of Medicine.

A key component of the first effort, led by McQuoid, relates to empowerment theory – helping people build their confidence to quit smoking through volunteer activities in various groups of their peers. “This approach builds community while the person is trying to quit smoking, which increases self-efficacy for quitting and a variety of other factors,” McQuoid said.

To inform policy decisions, Cohn’s project is designed to characterize the social factors that influence appeal and preference for flavored tobacco products in young people. The majority of young people who use tobacco choose to use a flavored tobacco product, and the use of these products is linked to tobacco use progression and greater nicotine dependence, Cohn said.

For all four projects, members of OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center’s Community Advisory Board, as well as representatives from other universities and community organizations, will provide input.

“It’s very important for us to engage with the community to make sure that the research projects we are conducting will be beneficial to people enrolled in the studies,” Kendzor said.