“There is a significant disparity in the knowledge that we have about the tumor landscape of colorectal cancer among Hispanics,” says Mariana Stern, PhD, of the University of Southern California Norris Cancer Center (above). “This has implications for the development of new therapies that may specifically benefit Hispanic patients.
A new 5-year $18.5 million study at USC, funded by the National Cancer Institute, “will help close this gap of knowledge in a significant way,” Stern says. (She received her undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina.)
“Hispanics develop colon cancer early which we still don’t understand,” added Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD, at the USC Norris Center for Cancer Drug Development. “With this grant we will be able to show for the first time comprehensive characterization of colon cancer in Hispanics and, based on this, not only understand early onset of colon cancer but also develop more effective therapeutic options for our Hispanic patients.”
See “Cancer Moonshot funds will help USC researchers reduce health disparities in cancer research” on the Keck School of Medicine of USC website (January 26, 2022)
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