American Cancer Society's report on the status of cancer disparities in the United States, 2021.

In this report, the authors provide comprehensive and up-to-date US data on disparities in cancer occurrence, major risk factors, and access to and utilization of preventive measures and screening by sociodemographic characteristics. They also review programs and resources that have reduced cancer disparities and provide policy recommendations to further mitigate these inequalities. The overall cancer death rate is 19% higher among Black males than among White males. Black females also have a 12% higher overall cancer death rate than their White counterparts despite having an 8% lower incidence rate. There are also substantial variations in death rates for specific cancer types and in stage at diagnosis, survival, exposure to risk factors, and receipt of preventive measures and screening by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geographic location. For example, kidney cancer death rates by sex among American Indian/Alaska Native people are ≥64% higher than the corresponding rates in each of the other racial/ethnic groups, and the 5-year relative survival for all cancers combined is 14% lower among residents of poorer counties than among residents of more affluent counties. Broad and equitable implementation of evidence-based interventions, such as increasing health insurance coverage through Medicaid expansion or other initiatives, could substantially reduce cancer disparities. However, progress will require not only equitable local, state, and federal policies but also broad interdisciplinary engagement to elevate and address fundamental social inequities and longstanding systemic racism.

Understanding and addressing social determinants to advance cancer health equity in the United States: A blueprint for practice, research, and policy.

Although cancer mortality rates declined in the United States in recent decades, some populations experienced little benefit from advances in cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, and survivorship care. In fact, some cancer disparities between populations of low and high socioeconomic status widened during this period. Many potentially preventable cancer deaths continue to occur, and disadvantaged populations bear a disproportionate burden. Reducing the burden of cancer and eliminating cancer-related disparities will require more focused and coordinated action across multiple sectors and in partnership with communities. This article, part of the American Cancer Society's Cancer Control Blueprint series, introduces a framework for understanding and addressing social determinants to advance cancer health equity and presents actionable recommendations for practice, research, and policy. The article aims to accelerate progress toward eliminating disparities in cancer and achieving health equity.

American Cancer Society guideline for diet and physical activity for cancer prevention.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) publishes the Diet and Physical Activity Guideline to serve as a foundation for its communication, policy, and community strategies and, ultimately, to affect dietary and physical activity patterns among Americans. This guideline is developed by a national panel of experts in cancer research, prevention, epidemiology, public health, and policy, and reflects the most current scientific evidence related to dietary and activity patterns and cancer risk. The ACS guideline focuses on recommendations for individual choices regarding diet and physical activity patterns, but those choices occur within a community context that either facilitates or creates barriers to healthy behaviors. Therefore, this committee presents recommendations for community action to accompany the 4 recommendations for individual choices to reduce cancer risk. These recommendations for community action recognize that a supportive social and physical environment is indispensable if individuals at all levels of society are to have genuine opportunities to choose healthy behaviors. This 2020 ACS guideline is consistent with guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association for the prevention of coronary heart disease and diabetes as well as for general health promotion, as defined by the 2015 to 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.

A Scoping Review of Food Insecurity and Related Factors among Cancer Survivors.

Despite growing awareness of the financial burden that a cancer diagnosis places on a household, there is limited understanding of the risk for food insecurity among this population. The current study reviewed literature focusing on the relationship between food insecurity, cancer, and related factors among cancer survivors and their caregivers. In total, 49 articles (across 45 studies) were reviewed and spanned topic areas: patient navigation/social worker role, caregiver role, psychosocial impacts, and food insecurity/financial toxicity. Patient navigation yielded positive impacts including perceptions of better quality of care and improved health related quality of life. Caregivers served multiple roles: managing medications, emotional support, and medical advocacy. Subsequently, caregivers experience financial burden with loss of employment and work productivity. Negative psychosocial impacts experienced by cancer survivors included: cognitive impairment, financial constraints, and lack of coping skills. Financial strain experienced by cancer survivors was reported to influence ratings of physical/mental health and symptom burden. These results highlight that fields of food insecurity, obesity, and cancer control have typically grappled with these issues in isolation and have not robustly studied these factors in conjunction. There is an urgent need for well-designed studies with appropriate methods to establish key determinants of food insecurity among cancer survivors with multidisciplinary collaborators.