Walsh-Childers, Kim

Abstract Black/African American populations, globally, bear the greatest prostate cancer (CaP) burden compared to other racial/ethnic groups. Addressing CaP disparities in Black men is complex, requiring a patient-centered, community-centric and comprehensive approach. This study integrates iCCaRE Consortium findings and broader literature to address unmet needs in survivorship care. The iCCaRE Consortium implemented five complementary pilot studies using mixed-methods designs, including feasibility trials, qualitative research, and observational analyses across the United States and sub-Saharan Africa. Descriptive statistics, subgroup analyses, and qualitative thematic analyses were performed across these studies. Collectively, projects addressed multilevel determinants including social, behavioral, and biological drivers of disparities. Project 1 implemented a Virtual Reality Assistant (ViRA) across clinical and community settings, with ongoing evaluation in pragmatic trials. Project 2 showed strong patient preference for home-based cancer care. Project 3 enrolled demonstrated trends toward improved health-related quality of life. Project 4 identified key themes influencing survivorship experiences. Project 5 identified biological mechanisms linking stress, immune modulation, and symptom burden. The iCCaRE pilot projects demonstrate the feasibility and early impact of a consortium-based, transdisciplinary approach to addressing CaP disparities in Black men. These findings highlight the importance of integrating patient-centered interventions, community engagement, and biological insights to inform scalable strategies aimed at improving survivorship outcomes and advancing health equity. The iCCaRE Consortium demonstrates that a transatlantic, patient-centered, and multidisciplinary approach integrating social, clinical, and biological factors can generate scalable strategies to improve survivorship outcomes and advance equity in CaP care for Black men.

Abstract Introduction: Black men are disproportionately affected by prostate cancer (CaP) and havebeen found to experience more aggressive forms of cancer. The Minority Prostate Cancer(MiCaP) Research Digest is a dissemination platform with the goal of spreading community-based and culturally relevant ways to provide prostate cancer discoveries, interventions, andclinical trials among Black men. In collecting pretest data, the MiCaP team was also able tocollect data on whether participants had been tested for CaP in the last year. We were also ableto collect data on various social determinant variables to test for association. Methods: Black men living in the United States ages 35 to 70 were recruited for this studythrough community-based methods. Participants were randomly assigned to an interventiongroup that received the MiCaP information material and a control group that watched a generalvideo. Both groups received baseline and follow-up surveys to assess their knowledge relatedto CaP clinical trials, testing, and treatment. Associations of characteristics from the baselinesurvey were evaluated using logistic regression models. Results: A total of 220 responses are included in this dataset. The majority of participants wereborn in the United States (93.06%), single (49.52%), attended/graduated college (35.65%),between 60 and 69 years (25.58%), had full-time employment (52.07%), and had a householdincome between 20,000 and 39,999 (21.66%). Only about 35% had read or heard about clinicaltrials within the last year. Logistic regression found a positive association between the followingvariables and getting tested for prostate cancer in the past year: if participants had heard ofcurrent prostate cancer research or discoveries, if an immediate family member had beendiagnosed with prostate cancer, age, and level of education. No association was found betweeninsurance status, utilization of healthcare, clinical trial participation, or clinical trial knowledge. Conclusion: There is an association between being aware of CaP discoveries, diagnosis of familymembers, education, and age with prostate cancer screening. Future work should be done tofurther explore this association and how to overcome the barriers those determinants mightprovide in screening. These data and future data on this can be used to further community-based interventions delivered in culturally relevant ways with the goal of encouraging positivehealth behaviors to reduce CaP in Black men. Citation Format: Jessica Otero Machuca, Parisa Fathi, Daniel Lee, Kim Walsh-Childers, Folakemi Odedina. Potential predictors of prostate cancer screening: Findings from the MiCaP research digest study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 1972.

Abstract Introduction: According to the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Control Blueprint, one of the reasons for the underrepresentation of minorities in clinical trials (CTs) is lack of engagement and effective recruitment of minoritized populations. This has inadvertently impacted the willingness of minorities to participate in CTs. The Minority Prostate Cancer (MiCaP) Research Digest is a dissemination platform that shares the latest scientific discoveries about prostate cancer (CaP) research, targeting Black men (BM), a population that is historically difficult to enroll in CTs. This study explored the willingness of BM in participating in various CTs. Methods: BM between the ages of 35 and 70 years who reside in the U.S. and have internet access were invited to enroll in the MiCaP study. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group exposed to the research digest (video and educational materials about a research study and CT) and a control group. Enrolled participants completed baseline and follow-up surveys with questions focused on willingness to participate in CTs. Descriptive statistics was employed to compare the groups on baseline and follow-up responses. Results: Majority of participants were US-born BM (93.06%), single (49.52%), attended/graduated college (35.65%), between 60 and 69 years (25.58%), had full-time employment (52.07%), had household income between 20,000 and 39,999 (21.66%) and live in urban setting (75.46%). However, only about 35% had read or heard about clinical trials within the last year. Only 14% reported they had been asked to participate in CTs within the last year, and more than 70% indicated that they would participate asked. Participants were asked to state the type of CT activity they would be willing to participate in within the next year. For the intervention group, the percentage of participants willing to participate in CTs increased for almost all activities (except major surgery). There were also slight increases in the Control group with the largest increase in being on a limited or restricted diet (+8.53%). Over 70% of all participants were willing to participate in trials that involved giving blood, doing exercises, being interviewed in person or by phone, completing a survey, being on limited diets and taking pills. Interestingly, undergoing minor surgery had the largest increase relative to CT participation (+6.9%). Participants were also asked to express their perceived behavioral control (BC) by indicating the ease of participating in CTs and finding information about CaP. As expected, the percentage of intervention group participants with high BC (selected very easy or easy) increased from baseline to follow up. Conclusion: With appropriate engagement and culturally responsive educational materials, BM are receptive to participating in a variety of CT activities. It is however important to note that the Black population is ethnically and culturally diverse, and thus the engagement and education should be tailored based on the men’s needs, ethnicity, and cultural views. Citation Format: Parisa Fathi, Kim Walsh-Childers, Folakemi Odedina. Black men's willingness to participate in prostate cancer clinical trials: Demystifying clinical trial activities through the MiCaP Research Digest study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 15th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2022 Sep 16-19; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr B083.