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Review
. 2024 Aug;26(8):855-864.
doi: 10.1007/s11912-024-01525-6. Epub 2024 May 27.

An Annual Symposium on Disparities in Milwaukee, WI, with a 2023 Focus on Older Adults with Cancer

Sailaja Kamaraju  1 , June McKoy  2 , Grant R Williams  3 , Nikesha Gilmore  4 , Christina Minami  5 , Kathryn Bylow  6 , Helena Rajalingam  4 , Chandler S Cortina  6   7 , Angela Beckert  6 , Melinda Stolley  6 , Dan Bullock  6   8 , Razelle Kurzrock  6 , Aminah Jatoi  9
Affiliations
Review

An Annual Symposium on Disparities in Milwaukee, WI, with a 2023 Focus on Older Adults with Cancer

Sailaja Kamaraju et al. Curr Oncol Rep. 2024 Aug.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Cancer-related inequities are prevalent in Wisconsin, with lower survival rates for breast, colorectal, and lung cancer patients from marginalized communities. This manuscript describes the ongoing efforts at the Medical College of Wisconsin and potential pathways of community engagement to promote education and awareness in reducing inequities in cancer care.

Recent findings: While some cancer inequities are related to aggressive disease biology, health-related social risks may be addressed through community-academic partnerships via an open dialogue between the community members and academic faculty. To develop potential pathways of community-academic partnerships, an annual Cancer Disparities Symposium concept evolved as a pragmatic and sustainable model in an interactive learning environment. In this manuscript, we describe the programmatic development and execution of the annual Cancer Disparities Symposium, followed by highlights from this year's meeting focused on geriatric oncology as discussed by the speakers.

Keywords: Biomarkers in geriatric oncology; Cancer disparities; Geriatric assessment; Geriatric oncology; Side effect management in geriatric oncology; Surgical options for older women with breast cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations

Competing Interests The authors declare no competing interests.

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