Food deserts, endometrial cancer survivors, and healthy food access: Is it equitable in rural America? - A geospatial analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To examine endometrial cancer survivors' access to healthy food resources recommended by the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) in relation to food deserts and social health determinants. METHODS: Participants included women seen for endometrial cancer treatment at an academic medical center in the Deep South from 2015 to 2020 who lived in South Carolina. Demographic and comorbidity data were abstracted from medical records. Food desert data were obtained from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Each patient was assigned a socioeconomic (SES) score (SES-1 = low, SES-5 = high) using census data and a social vulnerability index (SVI) using Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data for neighborhood adverse health effects. Geospatial techniques assessed patients' driving distance from home to a healthy food resource. RESULTS: Of the 736 endometrial cancer survivors, 31% identified as African American, and 30% lived in low SES (SES-1, SES-2) census blocks. Most survivors had low grade disease (63%) and 76% with stage 1-2 disease. Seventy percent of patients were obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). Forty percent of survivors lived in a food desert. Survivors living in a food desert with low SES had significantly higher social vulnerability (p = 0.0001) and lower median income (p = 0.0001). Those with low SES and living in a food desert drove further (p = 0.05, range 0.017-12.0 miles). CONCLUSION: Obesity rates were high in endometrial cancer survivors living in the Deep South. Survivors with higher social vulnerability and lower SES were more likely to live in food deserts with decreased access to healthy food resources.

Geospatial patterns of access to self-care resources for obesity among endometrial cancer survivors in a high poverty urban community.

OBJECTIVE: To examine endometrial cancer survivors' access to recommended obesity-related self-care resources. METHODS: Participants included women treated 2010-2015 for endometrial cancer at an academic medical center who lived in the surrounding 16 ZIP code area on Chicago's South Side. Demographic and health data were abstracted from medical records. A socioeconomic status (SES) score (SES-1 = low, SES-5 = high) was generated for each patient using census block group-level data. Self-care resources for exercise, healthy weight, and diet were obtained from a community resource census. Geospatial techniques assessed "walkable access" (~½-mile radius around a patient's home) to obesity-related resources. Multivariable logistic regression investigated associations between access to obesity-related resources and patient characteristics. RESULTS: Of 195 endometrial cancer survivors, 81% identified as Black/African American and 34% lived in an SES-1 census block. Two thirds (68%) had Stage I or II endometrial cancer. Nearly two thirds (62%) were obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). Obesity was inversely associated with SES (p = 0.05). Two thirds of survivors had access to at least one of all three recommended resource types. Access was lower in low SES regions and among Black/African American women. Lower SES was associated with lower odds of walkable access to recommended resources (AOR for access to two of each resource type 0.75, 95%CI 0.59, 0.97; AOR for access to three or more of each 0.44, 95%CI 0.32, 0.61). CONCLUSIONS: Obesity rates were higher and access to recommended resources was lower for Black/African American endometrial cancer survivors living in high poverty areas in Chicago.

Unraveling the etiology of ovarian cancer racial disparity in the deep south: Is it nature or nurture?

BACKGROUND: Our objective was to evaluate racial treatment and survival disparities in black women with ovarian cancer in the Deep South and to determine how environmental factors / socioeconomic status (SES) influence survival. METHODS: A retrospective study of ovarian cancer patients from 2007 to 2014 was performed. Socioeconomic status (SES) was obtained though U.S. Census block data and compared using Yost scores. Comparisons were performed using standard statistical approaches. RESULTS: A total of 393 patients were evaluated, 325 (83%) white and 68 (17%) black. Demographic information and surgical approach were similar in each racial group. However, compared to whites, black patients had lower rates of optimal debulking [89% vs. 71%, respectively (p=0.001)] and intraperitoneal chemotherapy (19% vs. 11%, p=0.01). Black women had lower SES parameters including education, income, and poverty. As a result, more black patients had the lowest SES (SES-1) when compared to white patients (17% vs. 41%, p<0.001). When controlling for these factors by cox regression analysis, a survival disadvantage was seen in black women for both progression free survival (16 vs. 27months, p=0.003) and overall survival (42 vs. 88months, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Despite controlling for clinical and environmental factors, a survival disadvantage was still observed in black patients with ovarian cancer in the Deep South. Black women had lower optimal debulking rates and more platinum resistant disease. These data suggest other factors like tumor biology may play a role in racial survival differences, however, more research is needed to determine this causation.

Sickle hemoglobin disturbs normal coupling among erythrocyte O2 content, glycolysis, and antioxidant capacity.

Energy metabolism in RBCs is characterized by O2-responsive variations in flux through the Embden Meyerhof pathway (EMP) or the hexose monophosphate pathway (HMP). Therefore, the generation of ATP, NADH, and 2,3-DPG (EMP) or NADPH (HMP) shift with RBC O2 content because of competition between deoxyhemoglobin and key EMP enzymes for binding to the cytoplasmic domain of the Band 3 membrane protein (cdB3). Enzyme inactivation by cdB3 sequestration in oxygenated RBCs favors HMP flux and NADPH generation (maximizing glutathione-based antioxidant systems). We tested the hypothesis that sickle hemoglobin disrupts cdB3-based regulatory protein complex assembly, creating vulnerability to oxidative stress. In RBCs from patients with sickle cell anemia, we demonstrate in the present study constrained HMP flux, NADPH, and glutathione recycling and reduced resilience to oxidative stress manifested by membrane protein oxidation and membrane fragility. Using a novel, inverted membrane-on-bead model, we illustrate abnormal (O2-dependent) association of sickle hemoglobin to RBC membrane that interferes with sequestration/inactivation of the EMP enzyme GAPDH. This finding was confirmed by immunofluorescent imaging during RBC O2 loading/unloading. Moreover, selective inhibition of inappropriately dispersed GAPDH rescues antioxidant capacity. Such disturbance of cdB3-based linkage between O2 gradients and RBC metabolism suggests a novel mechanism by which hypoxia may influence the sickle cell anemia phenotype.

Evaluation of the First-Year Data from an HPV Vaccination Van Program in South Carolina, U.S.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are linked to at least six different types of cancer. The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Hollings Cancer Center (HCC) and Department of Pediatrics leaders identified suboptimal rates of HPV vaccinations in rural and medically underserved communities in South Carolina (SC). To address this major public health problem in SC, they received funding from the HealthyMe/HealthySC (HMHSC) program and HCC to create a statewide community engagement-focused HPV Vaccination Van Program in October 2021. The Program provides HPV vaccinations and other childhood immunizations in school districts and HMHSC health clinics throughout SC, focusing on children aged 9-18 who are eligible for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vaccines for Children Program. As of 14 December 2022, the Program administered vaccinations in 16 counties of SC to 552 participants, 243 of whom received HPV vaccinations and were predominantly female (57.2%), aged 4-18 (95.9%), and self-identified as White (44.0%), Black (33.2%), or Hispanic/Latino (15.1%). Most had Medicaid (53.1%)/no insurance coverage (25.1%). The Program is expected to expand as the Program's relationship with SC's school districts grows. The Program provides a model for delivering mobile HPV vaccinations to rural children, thus reducing their cancer risk.

Asthma is a distinct comorbid condition in children with sickle cell anemia with elevated total and allergen-specific IgE levels.

Asthma in children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. However, the definition of asthma in SCA is based on a physician's impression. In a retrospective cohort of children with SCA, relationships between a physician diagnosis of asthma and total and allergen-specific immunoglobulin E levels were evaluated. In children with SCA, elevated total and specific immunoglobulin E levels were significantly associated with a diagnosis of asthma (P<0.05), further supporting the concept that asthma is a separate comorbid condition of SCA.