Study shows how African-American Ph.D. chemists overcame discrimination to build careers

Willie Pearson, Jr. Photographer: Gary Meek.

A national study of career experiences among African-American Ph.D. chemists shows how these scientists dealt with discriminatory practices and attitudes to build careers in academia, industry and government. While seven out of ten respondents felt they had been hindered by discrimination, less than a handful regretted choosing a career in chemistry.

"Regardless of the experiences they had, these people had remarkably positive feelings about chemistry," said Willie Pearson, Jr., the study's author and chair of the School of History, Technology and Society at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "If they had it to do all over again, they would still see chemistry as an attractive field."

Results of the study, "Beyond Small Numbers: Voices of African-American Ph.D. Chemists," will be presented February 15 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The study explores the divergent career experiences of 44 randomly-chosen African-American Ph.D. chemists who received degrees prior to 1994.

"The opportunity structure differed dramatically in many cases over time," said Pearson, who conducted face-to-face interviews with all but one of the scientists. "Most felt that race was an issue, and that it had impacted them in certain ways. But they didn't let that cripple them or stifle their achievement. Racism was just part of the reality that confronted them."

Most respondents began their careers in the academic world, with slightly more than half taking positions at historically black colleges and universities. The Ph.D. chemists choosing academic careers were attracted to institutions similar to the ones where they obtained their undergraduate degrees.

Their experiences changed dramatically over time, affected by federal legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and court decisions such as Brown v. Board of Education.

Other key findings include:

• The respondents often found themselves torn between the research they were trained to do and administrative roles that provided salary and advancement opportunities beyond what they could achieve as practicing chemists. For industrial chemists, these administrative positions were often in Equal Employment Opportunity, human resources or community outreach areas with little impact on company decision-making.
• Many of the respondents reported that good work overcame discrimination. "It's difficult not to reward excellence," said Pearson. "While there may be discriminatory practices, by and large the system tended to work for those who did good work."
• In academia as well as industry, experiences varied among departments even within the same institution. "While there might be a company culture, there are also individual unit cultures," he explained. "At one company, chemists reported different career advancement experiences depending on the division in which they worked. For example, in one unit, a chemist had filed racial discrimination complaints, while chemists in two separate units reported supportive and welcoming environments."
• African-American women often had to also confront gender discrimination and were expected to meet a higher standard than their male counterparts. "But I think you would find the same thing with women in general, because chemistry is still largely a male-dominated field," Pearson said.
• If they were the only persons of color in their organizations, African-American chemists sometimes suffered feelings of isolation, which caused stress and depression. In academia, isolated chemists often had difficulty attracting graduate students, which hurt their research and therefore their stature in the field.
• Among industrial chemists, eight of 13 respondents (62 percent) said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs. Among the academic chemists, 16 of the 22 (72 percent) reported that level of satisfaction – while five said they were very dissatisfied.
• Segregation in the South contributed to a 'brain drain' in which African-Americans pursuing chemistry doctorates entered universities outside the region. Most never returned

Daryl Chubin, senior vice president at the National Action Council for Minorities in Education (NACME), said the study is unusual in using interviews to provide an in-depth look at complex issues.

"The value of the analysis is that it looks across a half-century of experience on the part of these minority chemists," he said. "Because of the interviews, the study puts a human face on their experiences. There is a great deal of commonality in what these Ph.D. chemists are saying."

Chubin noted that the experiences reported by the chemists parallel those of today's minority science and engineering students, who often suffer from lack of access, isolation, tokenism, lack of acceptance from others at the institution and limited mentoring opportunities.

"The good news is that they prevailed," he added. "Some of them had very distinguished careers despite this. But it points out the climate in which they had to work, and which still confronts faculty of color."

The qualitative study highlights the importance of mentoring, Chubin and Pearson agree. To be successful in academia, scientists must not only teach and do research, but also write papers, submit grant applications, make professional presentations, compete for graduate students and manage their laboratories. That knowledge isn't taught in the classroom, but comes from working with top faculty.

"Many in the first generation of Ph.D.s didn't have a sense that the degree is only the beginning," Pearson said. "Finishing at a top academic institution is a great achievement, but in the research community, the degree is only the key to get in. Those who did not have a rich publishing experience and knowledge of how to write a grant had a very difficult time."

A shortage of African-American faculty poses a threat to the modest diversity at U.S. colleges and universities as today's full professors look toward retirement. "When we are only producing 30 or so African-American Ph.D.s a year and a number of African-American chemists are at or near retirement age, we risk losing ground, especially in academia," Pearson warned. ###

Technical contact: Willie Pearson (404-385-2265) or e-mail: (willie.pearsonjr@hts.gatech.edu).

Contact: John Toon john.toon@edi.gatech.edu 404-894-6986 Georgia Institute of Technology Research News

Project to Save the Lives of Malnourished Children Voted Top 5 in American Express Members Project

International Medical Corps (IMC) has been voted into the Top 5 as part of the American Express Members Project. After more than 87,000 votes, the project, “Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children,” now enters the final round of voting, which ends October 13. Card members will be able to cast their votes a second and final time to decide how the $2.5 million in funding is divided among the five finalists. The project with the most votes receives $1.5 million; the second-place finisher receives $500,000; third place, $300,000; and fourth and fifth place, $100,000.

“While my children go to bed with full stomachs each night, it is deeply troubling to consider that 5 million children younger than five die each year because they do not have the nutrients their little bodies need to survive,” says Paige Strackman, of Brooklyn, N.Y., who submitted the project to American Express. “We can solve this problem with nutrient-rich, ready-to-eat food. The number of votes during this round determines how many lives will be saved. Every vote makes a difference.”

Hunger and malnutrition kill more people in the world than HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. As food prices rise, millions are being driven deeper into poverty everyday while trying to afford basic staples. Many are at risk of having nothing to eat at all.

“International Medical Corps is deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with Paige on a project that she feels so passionately about,” said Rebecca Milner, Vice President of Institutional Advancement. “We also thank all those who rallied behind this cause to support our life-saving work. Their continued support is going to be critical as we vie for the top Members Project prize.”

Through nutrition programs that provide relief while creating sustainable solutions, International Medical Corps brings nutrition-rich, ready-to-eat food to some of world’s most food-insecure environments, including Ethiopia, Somalia, Chad, and Sudan. With a mission that focuses on training, International Medical Corps works to empower individuals and communities, providing education on how to treat malnutrition, identify warnings signs, and intervene before malnutrition worsens.

Contacts: For Press Inquiries, Stephanie Bowen. Communications Manager. International Medical Corps, 1919 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 400, Santa Monica, CA 90404. 310-826-7800. sbowen@imcworldwide.org

Most ethnic minority teens don't hang out with ethnic school crowds

Dr. Bradford Brown, is Professor of Human Development and former Chair of the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received an A.B. in sociology from Princeton University and Ph.D. in human development from the University of Chicago. Before joining the faculty of the University of Wisconsin in 1979. Dr. Brown’s research has focused on adolescent peer relations. He is especially well known for his work on teenage peer groups and peer pressure and their influence on school achievement and social adjustment. WEB: Peer Relations Study Group

Peer relationships are an important part of adolescence for most American adolescents. As teens find their places in the peer system in most high schools, crowds define most students’ status and reputation. Today, schools and communities are growing more ethnically diverse and types of crowds have expanded to include ethnically oriented groups. A new study finds that ethnic minority teens tend not to hang out with crowds made up of their ethnic peers. The study also found that being part of an ethnically oriented crowd at school is, for most Asian students, associated with mostly positive characteristics (such as pride in one’s ethnic background). For most Latino students, being part of an ethnically oriented crowd is associated with a mixed group of characteristics (some pride, but also some feelings of discrimination and stereotyping). The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dartmouth College, and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. It is published in the May/June 2008 issue of the journal Child Development.

The researchers sought to determine what factors explain whether ethnic minority teens are associated with ethnically oriented school crowds (for example, Blacks, Asians, or Mexicans) or with crowds based on individual abilities and interests (such as so-called jocks, druggies, populars, Goths, brains, loners, and nerds). In addition, they sought to understand whether crowds foster discrimination and stereotyping, or affirm young people’s positive ties to their ethnic background.

Researchers polled 2,465 African American, Asian American, and Latino teenagers ages 14 to 19 attending seven public high schools in the midwestern and western United States. The students were given a list of the crowds most commonly mentioned by other teens at their school and asked to indicate the one they identified with most closely. In addition, a group of students placed all their classmates (including those initially polled) into crowds; the researchers then looked for characteristics that distinguished adolescents who were part of ethnically oriented crowds from adolescents who were part of non-ethnic crowds.

The study found that ethnic crowd affiliation was not widespread, particularly among biracial youth. Only about 30% of the teenagers were placed by peers in ethnically oriented crowds, and only half that number associated themselves with such crowds. Teens in the ethnic categories studied were more likely to be placed by peers—and to place themselves—in crowds that were not defined ethnically.

However, since ethnicity is an important factor in the self-image and peer reputation of many youths, the study also sought to determine why some ethnic minorities do associate themselves with ethnic crowds at school. For all three ethnic groups studied, teenagers were more likely to be part of an ethnically oriented crowd if most of their friends came from the same ethnic background and if the students were doing poorly in school. Moreover, Latino and Asian American teens who had positive feelings about their ethnic background were more likely to associate themselves with a crowd made up of other teens from their ethnic group.

Furthermore, Latino students were more likely to be part of an ethnically oriented crowd if they came from lower-income homes and had experienced a lot of ethnic discrimination, perhaps because associating with a Latino crowd served as a defense against negative experiences with other peers at school.

“Adolescent crowds are often disparaged as instruments of peer pressure and stereotyping that interfere with healthy identity development,” notes Bradford Brown, professor of human development and educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the study’s lead author. “Our findings suggest that this might be true for ethnically oriented crowds in multi-ethnic American high schools, at least among Latino youth. In other respects, however our findings suggest that ethnically oriented crowd affiliations can reflect and contribute to healthy identity and social development, particularly among adolescents of Asian backgrounds.” ###

The study was funded, in part, by the U.S. Department of Education.

Summarized from Child Development, Vol. 79, Issue 3, Ethnicity and Image: Correlates of Crowd Affiliation Among Ethnic Minority Youth, by Brown, BB (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Herman, M (Dartmouth College), Hamm, JV (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill), and Heck, DJ (Horizon Research, Inc.). Copyright 2008 The Society for Research in Child Development, Inc. All rights reserved.

Contact: Andrea Browning abrowning@srcd.org 202-289-7905 Society for Research in Child Development

Racial disparities decline for cancer in Missouri

Sept. 23, 2008 -- Cancer death rates in the United States are highest among African Americans, but a new report shows that in Missouri the disparity in cancer incidence and death between African Americans and whites is declining. As a result, cancer incidence (the rate of newly diagnosed cases) between the races is equal, although the death rate will probably remain higher for African Americans for some time.

The report will be published in an upcoming issue of Missouri Medicine. The lead author is Mario Schootman, Ph.D., co-leader of the Prevention and Control Program at the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

"A lot of effort has been made to reduce cancer racial disparity in Missouri," says Schootman, also chief of the Division of Health Behavior Research and associate professor of epidemiology and medicine. "But there is still work to be done, especially in decreasing cancer mortality. Ideally, cancer will become just another bump in the road — an illness that people will be able to live with for many decades and keep under control."

The report shows that in 1996, the rate of new cancer cases was 18 percent higher for African-American Missourians but declined to six percent higher by 2003, the last year for which the data were analyzed. If this downward trend continues, the disparity in new cancer cases between African-American and white Missourians will have disappeared when 2006 data is analyzed, Schootman says.

On average, the overall Missouri cancer incidence rate decreased by 0.8 percent per year, possibly reflecting a drop in smoking rates and other preventive measures. The disparity in incidence between African Americans and whites might have arisen from such factors as differences in physical activity, weight, vitamin D deficiency, diabetes, diet and occupational exposure to pollutants, according to the report.

On the other hand, racial disparity in overall cancer death rates remains. In 2005, the last year for which the data were analyzed, the cancer death rate was 28 percent higher for Missouri's African Americans than for whites. This was down from a 48 percent higher cancer death rate for African Americans in 1990, but the slow pace of the decrease means that racial disparity in cancer deaths will probably continue for several more decades unless more aggressive interventions are used, Schootman says.

Schootman also individually analyzed four major cancers — colorectal, breast, prostate and lung — and found some trends contrary to the overall cancer trends. Instead of decreasing, the gap between African Americans and whites for colorectal cancer death rates remained as large as ever. The death rate for this cancer declined among members of both groups during the study period of 1990 to 2005, but it remained about 42 percent higher for African-American than white Missourians.

"In Missouri, African Americans were more likely to be screened for colorectal cancer than whites during the timeframe of our statistical analysis," Schootman says. "But that doesn't appear to have made enough of a difference in the rate of death yet. The racial disparity in colorectal cancer death rate is one of the most serious concerns raised by this study."

Schootman explains that there are four possible reasons for the higher colorectal cancer death rate: less aggressive treatment, more advanced cancer at time of diagnosis, less patient engagement in lifestyles that reduce risk of dying after diagnosis — such as exercise and weight loss — and more physical characteristics that increase risk of dying — such as a higher body fat percentage.

Racial disparity in breast cancer deaths increased during the study period. African American women in Missouri had a nine percent lower incidence of breast cancer than did white Missourians at the end of the study period but had a 46 percent higher breast cancer death rate. Schootman says that other studies suggest that lack of insurance, fear of testing, delay in seeking care and unfavorable tumor characteristics all contribute to this disparity.

Another major concern raised by the study was the much higher death rate from prostate cancer among African Americans. Despite a decline in racial disparity, African-American Missourians died at a 116 percent higher rate from prostate cancer than white Missourians. Schootman says that a possible explanation is that African Americans adopted prostate cancer screening and new therapies later than did white Missourians.

Racial disparity in lung cancer deaths decreased during the study period, but remained 15 percent higher for African-American Missourians. Other research suggests several reasons for the disparity: differences in referral to specialists, less patient acceptance of therapy due to distrust or misunderstanding and differences in availability of treatment.

To further reduce disparities in cancer incidence and death, state and local health departments, primary care associations, medical and community-based organizations, large employers and health care companies need to focus on providing equal access to preventive and treatment services.

The Siteman Cancer Center's PECaD (Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities addresses racial disparities in cancer in the St. Louis region.

"PECaD's efforts to reduce breast cancer disparities in the region include promoting mammography through outreach and our mobile mammography van, together with access to diagnostic and treatment services," says PECaD director, Graham Colditz, M.D., Dr.P.H., the Niess-Gain Professor and associate director of Prevention and Control at the Siteman Cancer Center. "Similar multilevel approaches will be necessary to reduce disparities."

###

Schootman conducted the analysis in collaboration with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, and the Missouri health department has published a more detailed version of this report, Cancer in Missouri: Trends in Disparities Between African Americans and Whites, which is available in PDF format at: dhss.mo.gov/CancerinMissouri/CancerDisparityReport. Information on cancer incidence and deaths for the report came from the Missouri Cancer Registry and the Bureau of Health Informatics.

Eliminating racial disparities in cancer is a key goal of national organizations and agencies such as the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is also a key goal of the Missouri cancer control plan developed by the Missouri Cancer Consortium.

Schootman M, Yun S. Trends in cancer disparities between African Americans and whites in Missouri. Missouri Medicine, upcoming issue.

Funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute supported this research.

Washington University School of Medicine's 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked third in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

Siteman Cancer Center is the only federally designated Comprehensive Cancer Center within a 240-mile radius of St. Louis. Siteman Cancer Center is composed of the combined cancer research and treatment programs of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. Siteman has satellite locations in West County and St. Peters, in addition to its full-service facility at Washington University Medical Center on South Kingshighway.

Contact: Gwen Ericson ericsong@wustl.edu 314-286-0141 Washington University in St. Louis

Hip hop and linguistics: You ain't heard no research like it!

Unique source material furthers research on African American vernacular English It's rare to use the words 'hip hop' and 'serious academic research' in the same sentence,

but a University of Calgary linguistics professor has relied on rap music as source material for a study of African American vernacular English.

Dr. Darin Howe recently contributed a book chapter that focuses on how black Americans use the negative in informal speech, citing examples from hip hop artists such as Phonte, Jay Z and Method Man. Howe is believed to be the only academic in Canada and one of the few in the world to take a scholarly look at the language of hip hop.

"There is still a lot of prejudice against black vernacular English," Howe says. "People tend to assume it's illogical and ungrammatical, but there is a system there and a grammar that you can describe. Rap music may be ear torture for many people, but for linguists, this is what makes us really excited."

Howe specifically focused on the use of the word 'ain't' and on other negative constructions – or, as it's called in linguistics, negation. "When you have multiple negation it seems really confusing, and what happens in black English is that the negation extends across multiple clauses."

For example, the book chapter quotes Tupac Shakur as saying, "It's like can't nobody never get confused and think I'm like Mike Tyson;" in other words, no one could confuse Tupac with Mike Tyson.

In another example, black English commonly substitutes the word 'ain't' for 'didn't.' So 'I didn't see him' could become, 'I aint see him.' "However, black English speakers know that you should only do this for about half the time," Howe says. "White hip hop artists try to imitate black speech, and for the most part they do a decent job, but when they don't have the rules down it becomes noticeable."

One of the intriguing conclusions that Howe draws is that there is an accelerating divergence in the speech dialects of whites and blacks, a subject that surfaced in the late 1990s with the debate on Ebonics.

Howe's focus was purely on the mechanics of the language and not on the culture of hip hop, which some have criticized as violent and misogynistic. He was assisted by an undergraduate linguistics student, Jeff Long, who is keenly interested in hip hop music and who found many of the examples cited in the research. "It's not often that you can combine your own interests with school work, so it was a real joy for me to work on this," Long says. ###

Howe did his master's thesis on African Nova Scotian English but has since specialized at U of C in native languages and phonology, or speech sounds. His chapter, "Negation in African American Vernacular English," appears in the book, Aspects of English Negation, edited by Yoko Iyeiri and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company / Yushodo Press. To arrange an interview with Dr. Howe, contact his office at (403) 220-6110, or phone Greg Harris, (403) 220-3506 or cell, 540-7306. Phone Harris to request a copy of the chapter.

Contact: Gregory Harris gharris@ucalgary.ca 403-220-3506 University of Calgary

Inage Licensing: This image was originally posted to Flickr by Defame. This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.

No longer an issue of black and white?

Ronald E. Hall, Title: Associate Professor. Office Location: 224 Baker Hall. Phone: 517/432-3729. Fax: 517/353-3038. E-mail: hallr@msu.edu WEB: socialwork.msu.edu Education: Ph.D, Atlanta University, MSW, University of Michigan, MCS, University of Detroit

Skin color, more than race, is important cause of racism, according to new book Racism in the 21st Century The color of a person's skin, more than a person's race, is becoming a key cause of racism, according to a new book Racism in the 21st Century co-written and edited by Ronald Hall, associate professor of social work at Michigan State University. In an era when Barack Obama, the first African-American U.S. presidential candidate nominated by a major political party, is running for president, many people still struggle against prejudice and racism. Lighter-skinned blacks, Hispanics, Asians and other minorities often receive preferential treatment over their darker-skinned counterparts in education, housing, employment, and other areas, Hall and his fellow authors argue.

Immigrant workers with lighter skin color make more money on average than those with darker complexions, according to the research of contributor and Vanderbilt University professor Joni Hersch. In addition, the number of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaints on skin-color based discrimination are increasing, the book notes. In 2002, the EEOC successfully sued the owners of a Mexican restaurant in San Antonio, Texas, after the restaurant directed the white manager to hire only light-skinned staff to work in the dining room.

Colorism, discrimination based on skin color, is a centuries-old legacy of Western colonialism, according to Hall.

"Racism is no longer an issue of black and white," said Hall who has researched skin color discrimination for 25 years. "As we move further into the 21st century, with increased levels of interracial marriage, we won't be able to make racial differentiations. You're going to have people, for example, with Asian facial features, African hair texture, and Caucasian skin tones – and that's unprecedented. But the way we'll continue to assess one another, unfortunately, is going to be based on the manifestations of skin color. ###

Ronald Hall (Ed.) Racism in the 21st Century, An Empirical Analysis of Skin Color. XIV, 260 p. 9 illus., 2 in color., Hardcover $49.95, €34.95, £26.50, ISBN 978-0-387-79097-8

Contact: Joan Robinson joan.robinson@springer.com 49-622-148-78130 Springer

International Medical Corps, Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children

International Medical Corps has been matched to one of the Top 25 in American Express’ Members Projects, ‘Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children.’

Chosen out of 1,190 projects, “Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children” is now eligible to receive up to $1.5 million in funding. The project with the most votes receives $1.5 million, 2nd receives $500,000, 3rd $300,000, and 4th and 5th $100,000. The funding – made possible by your votes – would bring a vital lifeline to hungry and malnourished children around the world.

We need your help between now and September 29th. Voting is easy and doesn’t cost a thing!

In just a click, you can save the lives of thousands of malnourished children.

For severely malnourished children, we offer a step-by-step treatment program that gives them what they need to recover, including nutrient-dense food supplements like the peanut-based product, Plumpy'Nut. Our comprehensive monitoring system saves more than 90 percent of children being treated in our feeding centers. Being one of the Top 5 would mean our nutrition could reach more children around the world who need our help.

Hunger and malnutrition kill more people in the world than HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. As food prices rise, this funding is even more critical. More people are being driven deeper into poverty trying to afford basic staples. Many have nothing to eat at all. Your vote makes it possible for fewer young lives to be lost because they do not have enough to eat.

Getting the word out to your friends and family makes a huge difference! Forward this link to a friend and you bring us that much closer to the $1.5 million to help malnourished children around the world!

About International Medical Corps

International Medical Corps (IMC) is a global, humanitarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief and development programs.

Established in 1984 by volunteer doctors and nurses, IMC is a private, voluntary, nonpolitical, nonsectarian organization. Its mission is to improve the quality of life through health interventions and related activities that build local capacity in underserved communities worldwide.

By offering training and health care to local populations and medical assistance to people at highest risk, and with the flexibility to respond rapidly to emergency situations, IMC rehabilitates devastated health care systems and helps bring them back to self-reliance.

Help International Medical Corps

Double your impact. Donate today. Your gift is matched before October 31st.

International Medical Corps has received a pledge of $100,000 in matching funds to provide vital health care to millions of children and families suffering in the global food crisis and other emergencies around the world. Every donation made before October 31st will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $100,000. That means that we can double every dollar you provide, multiplying your gift and reaching more children and families who so desperately need our help.

Did you know that hunger and malnutrition kill more people than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined? As food prices soar, billions of people around the world are more vulnerable to malnutrition and severe food insecurity. Malnutrition often puts children at risk for malaria, diarrhea and respiratory infections – creating a vicious cycle. We see the impact of this emergency at our feeding sites and clinics everyday. By making a donation, you provide a lifeline for children and families who desperately need our help.

Contacts: For Press Inquiries: Stephanie Bowen, Communications Manager, International Medical Corps, 1919 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 400, Santa Monica, CA 90404, 310-826-7800 sbowen@imcworldwide.org

Racial disparities in radiation therapy rates for breast cancer

Thomas A. Buchholz, M.D., F.A.C.R. Professor of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Chair, Department of Radiation Oncology. Medical Director of Radiation Oncology, Ambulatory Clinic Building. Program Director and Section Chief, Breast Radiation Oncology

M. D. Anderson study finds racial disparities in radiation therapy rates for breast cancer. Largest study of its kind reveals blacks less likely than whites to receive standard of care WASHINGTON, DC - Black women are less likely than white women to receive radiation therapy after a lumpectomy, the standard of care for early stage breast cancer, according to a new study by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The study, the largest of its kind, was presented today in advance of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Breast Cancer Symposium, and is the first national study to examine such racial disparities in radiation therapy. Led by Grace Li Smith, M.D., Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in M. D. Anderson's Department of Radiation Oncology, the researchers reviewed the Medicare records of more than 37,000 patients diagnosed with early stage breast cancer in 2003.

"Although there have been smaller studies of racial disparities in breast cancer care, no prior research has examined the differences across the nation in the rates of radiation therapy after lumpectomy between whites and blacks," said Smith, the study's first author. "The national Medicare database, because it's so comprehensive, allowed us to determine the extent to which racial disparities in radiation therapy affected patients across the country."

For the retrospective cohort study, Smith and her M. D. Anderson colleagues used Medicare claims to examine the treatment history of women aged 66 and older diagnosed in 2003 with early stage, newly diagnosed breast cancer. Of the 37,305 women who underwent a lumpectomy for their breast cancer, 34,024 were white and 2,305 were black. Overall, 74 percent of the white women received radiation therapy after their lumpectomy; in contrast, 65 percent of the black breast cancer patients received the same treatment.

"The use of radiation after lumpectomy is considered to be the standard of care for women with invasive breast cancer, as clinical trials have demonstrated that it both reduces the chance of recurrence and improves the chance of survival," said Thomas Buchholz, M.D., professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology and the study's senior author. "While there are some breast cancer patients, such as those over age 70, with significant co-morbidities for whom radiation would not be appropriate, this discrepancy remained consistent when specifically looking at patients under the age of 70."

Perhaps the most unexpected aspect of the study, said Smith, was the magnitude of the disparity in specific areas of the country: the Pacific West, 72 (whites) vs. 55 percent (blacks); East South Central, 72 (whites) vs. 57 percent (blacks), and the Northeast, 70 (whites) vs. 58 percent (blacks).

However, in some parts of the country - the Mountain West (76 percent vs. 74 percent) and the North Central Midwest (74 percent vs. 72 percent) - there was virtually no discrepancy in radiation rates between whites and blacks. That level of geographic non-disparity was also surprising and of great benefit for further research, said Smith.

"Until further research is conducted, we may only speculate about the underlying reasons why black and white women are not receiving radiation at the same rate. We don't know if fewer black women are receiving radiation simply because it is not offered to them, because they decline the treatment, or perhaps because they are unable to complete a whole course of treatment due to other health problems. These questions will be important subjects of future study. As a medical community, we need to identify and eliminate any obstacle prohibiting all women from receiving necessary care for their breast cancer."

Smith's plans for follow up research include evaluating the difference in radiation rates results in a difference in mortality. She also plans to investigate whether radiation patterns correlate with other illnesses secondary to breast cancer care, and if there are disparities in other types of cancer treatment.

Smith hopes that results from the study may prompt physicians and patients to work together to overcome some of the barriers to treatment.

"Physicians may be able to help patients identify specific barriers to their care and may be able to be influential in helping patients overcome such obstacles," said Smith. "Or, if there are concerns or misconceptions about radiation treatment, patients themselves may play a role by becoming educated about the value of radiation after lumpectomy and helping to disseminate this information into their communities."

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In addition to Smith and Buchholz, other authors of the all-M. D. Anderson study include: Tina Shih, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Biostatistics; Ying Xu, M.D., senior statistical analyst, Division of Quantitative Sciences; Sharon Giordano, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Breast Medical Oncology; Benjamin Smith, M.D., adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology; George Perkins, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology; Welela Tereffe, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology; Wendy Woodward, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology.

The research was supported by a grant from the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program, BC062438.

About M. D. Anderson

The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. M. D. Anderson is one of only 39 Comprehensive Cancer Centers designated by the National Cancer Institute. For five of the past eight years, M. D. Anderson has ranked No. 1 in cancer care in "America's Best Hospitals," a survey published annually in U.S. News and World Report.

Contact: Laura Sussman lsussman@mdanderson.org 713-745-2457 University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

New gene variant identified for nondiabetic end stage renal disease in African-Americans

Michael J. Klag. Dean, Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University Office of the Dean. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. 615 N. Wolfe Street. Baltimore, MD 21205. Phone: (410) 955-3540. Fax: (410) 955-0121. E-mail: mklag@jhsph.edu

Scientists at Johns Hopkins schools of Public Health and Medicine have, for the first time, identified variants in the gene MYH9 that are associated with increased risk for non-diabetic end stage renal disease (ESRD,) which is the near-loss of kidney function leading to either dialysis of transplant. MYH9, located on the 22 chromosome, is the first gene identified for common forms of kidney disease. The study was published online September 14 in the journal Nature Genetics and will be published in the October print edition. In a separate study published in the same issue, researchers at the National Institutes of Health reported similar findings. In the United States, about 26 million Americans have chronic kidney disease with nearly 427,000 Americans requiring dialysis or kidney transplant each year for the treatment of ESRD, according to U.S. government studies. African Americans are affected disproportionately as they have a four-times-higher incidence of end stage renal disease compared to European Americans.

"We are in the midst of an epidemic of chronic kidney disease, in which African Americans are disproportionately affected. This finding does not mean that non-genetic factors, such as socioeconomic indicators and other factors do not contribute to the higher risk of kidney disease in African Americans. It defines a subset of persons most likely vulnerable to the harmful effect of these factors," said study author Michael J. Klag, MD, MPH, dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

"Our results show that in addition to environmental and behavioral risk factors, genetic factors play a role as well," said lead author, Linda Kao, PhD, MHS, associate professor in Bloomberg School of Public Health's Department of Epidemiology and the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research.

"While we know these genetic variations are common among African Americans, not everyone with the variations has disease and not everyone with disease has the variations. Therefore, it is imperative that we understand what other modifiable risk factors are interacting with the genetic risk factors to cause disease."

For the study, researchers used a technique known as admixture mapping to survey genomes of 1,372 African Americans with ESRD and a control group of about 800 African Americans without ESRD. The study identified several alleles, or variations, in the MYH9 gene that were highly associated with non-diabetic ESRD but not diabetic ESRD. These variants were not associated with diabetic ESRD. Even though the variations identified in this study are present in many populations, they are more frequent among individuals with West African ancestry.

"This finding suggests that the mechanisms leading from onset of chronic kidney disease to kidney failure may differ based on the inciting cause," said study author Rulan S. Parekh, MD, associate professor Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Welch Center. "Discovery of the gene and its association with kidney disease will lead to future studies to better understand the biology of kidney disease progression and ultimately may direct drug therapy and potential screening of patients." ###

Additional authors include Lucy A. Meoni, ScM; David Reich, PhD; Yvette Berthier-Schaad, PhD; Man Li, MS; Josef Coresh, MD, PhD; Nick Patterson, PhD; Arti Tandon; Neil R. Powe, MD, MPH; Nancy E. Fink, MPH; John H. Sadler, MD; Matthew R. Weir, MD; Hanna E. Abboud, MD; Sharon Adler, MD; Jasmin Divers, PhD; Sudha K. Iyengar, PhD; Barry I. Freedman, MD; Paul L. Kimmel, MD; William C. Knowler, MD, DrPH; Orly F. Kohn, MD; Kristopher Kramp, MS; David J. Leehey, MD; Susanne Nicholas, MD, PhD; Madeleine Pahl, MD; Jeffrey R. Schelling, MD; John R. Sedor, MD; Denyse Thornly-Brown, MD; Cheryl A. Winkler, PhD; and Michael W. Smith, PhD.

The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute's Center for Cancer Research.

For public health news throughout the day, visit www.jhsph.edu/publichealthnews.

Contact: Tim Parsons tmparson@jhsph.edu 410-955-7619 Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

Blacks less likely to recognize overweight and obesity, study shows

Gary G. Bennett, PhD, Assistant Professor of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health. Area of Research, Cancer Disparities Among Racial and Ethnic Minorities Contact Information, Gary G. Bennett, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 44 Binney Street Smith 256 Boston, MA 02115. Office phone: (617) 632-4050, Appointment phone: (617) 632-5674, Fax: (617) 632-1999. E-mail: gbennett@hsph.harvard.edu Our research program comprises both observational and intervention research and focuses on disparities in cancer risk behaviors, with a particular emphasis on the high prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity among blacks. Together, physical inactivity and obesity may account for 25% to 30% of several major cancers: colon, breast (postmenopausal), endometrial, kidney, and esophageal. While a great deal of research has described the physical inactivity and obesity among black adults, comparatively little work has examined the social determinants that might inform behavioral and policy interventions. WEB: Gary G. Bennett, PhD

Researchers say failure to recognize excess body weight poses significant health concerns BOSTON -- Overweight black Americans are two to three times more likely than heavy white Americans to say they are of average weight – even after being diagnosed as overweight or obese by their doctors, according to a study led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers. Weight "misperception" was most common among black men and women, and also was found among Hispanic men (but not women) compared to their white counterparts. The findings, which appear in the current online issue of the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, are significant as excess body weight is a known risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, many forms of cancer, and premature death. Growing concern over the national obesity epidemic in recent years apparently has not significantly increased overweight blacks’ recognition of their excess pounds, said Gary G. Bennett, PhD, of Dana-Farber’s Center for Community-Based Research and Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, lead author of the study. The report by Bennett and Kathleen Y. Wolin, ScD of Northwestern University is based on an analysis of data collected in the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES), a government-sponsored research study begun in the 1960s. It includes both interviews and physical examinations carried out by mobile units across the country. Analyses of NHANES data collected in 1988-98 and 2001-02 show that the prevalence of misperception actually has increased among blacks. "During this period we’ve seen rapid gains in obesity," said Bennett. "We think it’s a considerable problem that this is still not resonating among blacks and other minorities," he added. Although the prevalence of overweight and obesity is even higher among blacks (estimated at over 75 percent) than the national average, Bennett said less pressure exists in the black community for people to lose weight through diet and exercise because of a cultural acceptance of higher body weights and heavier body shapes. "We think that misperception can be very useful when it comes to protecting people against overly stringent body image ideals and eating disorders," said Bennett, who is black. "But it’s a problem when people fail to realize the health consequences associated with obesity."

The researchers analyzed data on 6,552 overweight and obese men and women who participated in the 1999-2002 NHANES surveys. Included in the analyses were data on height, weight, body mass index, whether they had received a diagnosis of overweight from a doctor, and responses to the question, "Do you consider yourself now to be overweight, underweight, or about the right weight"" Since all the participants were overweight or obese by standard health guidelines, all answers of "about the right weight" were categorized as "inaccurate" or a "misperception" by the researchers. The study was not designed to determine whether the inaccurate statements were intentional or not.

The study found that men were more likely than women to misperceive their weight. Among women, the prevalence of misperception was highest among overweight black women (40.9 percent, compared to 20.6 percent in overweight white women) and men (66.4 percent, compared to 43.2 percent in overweight white men). It was lowest among obese white women (3.1 percent, compared with 11.2 percent in obese black women) and men (8.9 percent, compared to 26.2 of obese black men.)

Altogether, overweight black men and women were twice as likely as whites to make inaccurate body weight perceptions, and obese black adults were even more likely to exhibit weight status misperceptions, according to the report.

Unrealistic assessments of body weight were just as common in people who were relatively financially well off as in poorer people, and in those who had been told by their doctors that they were overweight or obese.

One lesson from the findings, Bennett said, is that "it is probably not sufficient for physicians to simply tell a person that he or she is overweight; doctors should do much more intensive counseling regarding the health consequence of being overweight."

The message is complicated, he added, by research findings showing that blacks generally don’t experience life-shortening health effects until they are more obese compared to whites. "Obesity-associated mortality occurs at a higher BMI (body mass index) among blacks than it does for whites," probably for biological reasons, said Bennett. Yet some of the health effects associated with excess weight, such as diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension, can be causing harm in blacks long before they result in death.

"The tendency to dramatically underestimate the degree of their overweight should be a clarion call to blacks," Bennett said. "We hope that people will increasingly recognize the health consequences associated with excess weight." ###

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (www.dana-farber.org) is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.

Contact: Janet Haley Dubow janet_haley@dfci.harvard.edu 617-632-5665 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Dr. Patricia E. Bath

Dr. Patricia Bath was the first woman ophthalmologist to be appointed to the faculty of the University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine Jules Stein Eye Institute.

Dr. Bath was the first woman to chair an ophthalmology residency program in the United States.

Dr. Patricia Bath discovered and invented a new device and technique for cataract surgery known as laserphaco. Dr. Bath is the first African American woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical invention.

Born: November 4, 1942, Birthplace: Harlem, New York - Patricia E. Bath, an ophthalmologist and laser scientist, is an innovative research scientist and advocate for blindness prevention, treatment, and cure. Her accomplishments include the invention of a new device and technique for cataract surgery known as laserphaco, the creation of a new discipline known as "community ophthalmology," and appointment as the first woman chair of ophthalmology in the United States, at Drew-UCLA in 1983.

Dr. Patricia E. Bath

Patricia Bath's dedication to a life in medicine began in childhood, when she was first heard about Dr. Albert Schweitzer's service to lepers in the Congo. After excelling in her studies in high school and university and earning awards for scientific research as early as age sixteen, Dr. Bath embarked on a career in medicine. She received her medical degree from Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C., interned at Harlem Hospital from 1968 to 1969, and completed a fellowship in ophthalmology at Columbia University from 1969 to 1970. Following her internship, Dr. Bath completed her training at New York University between 1970 and 1973, where she was the first African American resident in ophthalmology. Bath married and had a daughter Eraka, born 1972.

While motherhood became her priority, she also managed to complete a fellowship in corneal transplantation and keratoprosthesis (replacing the human cornea with an artificial one).

As a young intern shuttling between Harlem Hospital and Columbia University, Bath was quick to observe that at the eye clinic in Harlem half the patients were blind or visually impaired. At the eye clinic at Columbia, by contrast, there were very few obviously blind patients. This observation led her to conduct a retrospective epidemiological study, which documented that blindness among blacks was double that among whites. She reached the conclusion that the high prevalence of blindness among blacks was due to lack of access of ophthalmic care. As a result, she proposed a new discipline, known as community ophthalmology, which is now operative worldwide. Community ophthalmology combines aspects of public health, community medicine, and clinical ophthalmology to offer primary care to underserved populations. Volunteers trained as eye workers visit senior centers and daycare programs to test vision and screen for cataracts, glaucoma, and other threatening eye conditions. This outreach has saved the sight of thousands whose problems would otherwise have gone undiagnosed and untreated. By identifying children who need eyeglasses, the volunteers give these children a better chance for success in school.

Bath was also instrumental in bringing ophthalmic surgical services to Harlem Hospital's Eye Clinic, which did not perform eye surgery in 1968. She persuaded her professors at Columbia to operate on blind patients for free, and she volunteered as an assistant surgeon. The first major eye operation at Harlem Hospital was performed in 1970 as a result of her efforts.

In 1974 Bath joined the faculty of UCLA and Charles R. Drew University as an assistant professor of surgery (Drew) and ophthalmology (UCLA). The following year she became the first woman faculty member in the Department of Ophthalmology at UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute. As she notes, when she became the first woman faculty in the department, she was offered an office "in the basement next to the lab animals." She refused the spot. "I didn't say it was racist or sexist. I said it was inappropriate and succeeded in getting acceptable office space. I decided I was just going to do my work." By 1983 she was chair of the ophthalmology residency training program at Drew-UCLA, the first woman in the USA to hold such a position.

Despite university policies extolling equality and condemning discrimination, Professor Bath experienced numerous instances of sexism and racism throughout her tenure at both UCLA and Drew. Determined that her research not be obstructed by the "glass ceilings," she took her research abroad to Europe. Free at last from the toxic constraints of sexism and racism her research was accepted on its merits at the Laser Medical Center of Berlin, West Germany, the Rothschild Eye Institute of Paris, France, and the Loughborough Institute of Technology, England. At those institutions she achieved her "personal best" in research and laser science, the fruits of which are evidenced by her laser patents on eye surgery.

Bath's work and interests, however, have always gone beyond the confines of a university. In 1977, she and three other colleagues founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness, an organization whose mission is to protect, preserve, and restore the gift of sight. The AIPB is based on the principle that eyesight is a basic human right and that primary eye care must be made available to all people, everywhere, regardless of their economic status. Much of the work of the AIPB is done though ophthalmic assistants, who are trained in programs at major universities. The institute supports global initiatives to provide newborn infants with protective anti-infection eye drops, to ensure that children who are malnourished receive vitamin A supplements essential for vision, and to vaccinate children against diseases (such as measles) that can lead to blindness.

As director of AIPB, Bath has traveled widely. On these travels she has performed surgery, taught new medical techniques, donated equipment, lectured, met with colleagues, and witnessed the disparity in health services available in industrial and developing countries.

Dr. Bath is also a laser scientist and inventor. Her interest, experience, and research on cataracts lead to her invention of a new device and method to remove cataracts—the laserphaco probe. When she first conceived of the device in 1981, her idea was more advanced than the technology available at the time. It took her nearly five years to complete the research and testing needed to make it work and apply for a patent. Today the device is use worldwide. With the keratoprosthesis device, Dr. Bath was able to recover the sight of several individuals who had been blind for over 30 years.

In 1993, Bath retired from UCLA Medical Center and was appointed to the honorary medical staff. Since then, she has been an advocate of telemedicine, the use of electronic communication to provide medical services to remote areas where health care is limited. She has held positions in telemedicine at Howard University and St. George's University in Grenada.

Dr. Bath's greatest passion, however, continues to be fighting blindness. Her "personal best moment" occurred on a humanitarian mission to North Africa, when she restored the sight of a woman who had been blind for thirty years by implanting a keratoprosthesis. "The ability to restore sight is the ultimate reward," she says.

What was my biggest obstacle?

Sexism, racism, and relative poverty were the obstacles which I faced as a young girl growing up in Harlem. There were no women physicians I knew of and surgery was a male-dominated profession; no high schools existed in Harlem, a predominantly black community; additionally, blacks were excluded from numerous medical schools and medical societies; and, my family did not possess the funds to send me to medical school. [Dr. Bath says her mother scrubbed floors so she could go to medical school.]

Despite official university policies extolling equality and condemning discrimination, Bath experienced both sexism and racism during her tenure at both UCLA and Drew. Determined that her research not be obstructed by the "glass ceilings," she took her research abroad to Europe, where her research was accepted on its merits at the Laser Medical Center of Berlin, West Germany, the Rothschild Eye Institute of Paris, France, and the Loughborough (England) Institute of Technology. At those institutions she excelled in research and laser science, the fruits of which are evidenced by her patents for laser eye surgery.

How do I make a difference?

I am most proud of my invention of a new technique and concept for cataract surgery, known as laserphaco, which is defined by my publications as well as patents.

Who was my mentor?

Newspaper accounts of the humanitarian work of Dr. Albert Schweitzer (who treated lepers in Africa) and my personal relationship with my family physician, Dr. Cecil Marquez, inspired me with the ambition to become a physician. Both my parents shared my admiration for these two role models and encouraged me to pursue my ambition.

TEXT and IMAGE CREDIT: Government information at NLM Web sites is in the public domain. Public domain information may be freely distributed and copied, but it is requested that in any subsequent use the National Library of Medicine (NLM) be given appropriate acknowledgement. Changing the Face of Medicine

Hair straightening chemicals not linked to breast cancer risk in African-Americans

PHILADELPHIA - Chemical "relaxers" used to straighten hair are not associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer among African-American women, say researchers who followed 48,167 Black Women's Health Study participants.

In the May issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, researchers from Boston University and Howard University Cancer Center found no increase in breast cancer risk due to the type of hair relaxer used or the frequency and duration of use. Women who used relaxers seven or more times a year over a 20 year span or longer had the same risk as women who used the chemicals for less than a year, researchers say.

Lynn Rosenberg is professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health. She received her M.S. in chemistry from Boston University and M.S. in biostatistics and Sc.D. in epidemiology from Harvard University. Dr. Rosenberg’s research has been in the areas of cancer epidemiology, cardiovascular epidemiology, and drug epidemiology, with a recent emphasis on women’s health. She has carried out multiple studies of risk factors for cancers, including cancer of the breast, cervix, and colon, and for myocardial infarction. Particular interests have been the health effects of oral and injectable contraceptives and of noncontraceptive estrogens. Several important hypotheses have been raised by her studies: that alcohol consumption increases the incidence of breast cancer and that use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs decreases the incidence of large bowel cancer. Both hypotheses were subsequently confirmed in numerous studies. Currently, she is PI of the long-running Case-Control Surveillance Study, which has been in progress since 1975; multiple case-control studies are conducted within the same administrative framework to assess the unanticipated effects of medications on the incidence of various cancers. She heads a cross-sectional study of the effect of injectable progestin contraceptives on bone mineral density in African women and women of mixed race in South Africa . She is also PI of the Black Women’s Health Study, the largest follow-up study of the health of African-American women yet conducted. The study, conducted in collaboration with investigators at Howard University, follows 59,000 black women from across the U.S. to assess risk factors for outcomes that include breast cancer, other cancers, hypertension, diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus, uterine fibroids, and preterm birth. Dr. Rosenberg is the author of over 200 scientific papers.

"This is good news," said the study's lead investigator, Lynn Rosenberg, Sc.D., professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health. "The present study is definitive that hair relaxers don't cause breast cancer, as much as an epidemiologic study can be." Previous research shows that breast cancer incidence is higher among African-American women age 40 or younger than among Caucasian women of the same age, and this increased risk is not fully explained by known risk factors, such as race and family history. At all ages, African-American women are more likely to die of breast cancer than are Caucasian women. To shed light on these findings and to study potential causes of breast cancer and other serious illnesses that affect black women, the Black Women's Health Study was launched across the United States in 1995. More than 59,000 women completed an initial questionnaire and more than 80 percent have answered follow-up questions every two years since, including questions about use of hair relaxers. Hair relaxers can enter the body through cuts or lesions in the scalp. These products are not fully monitored by the Food and Drug Administration, and thus could contain potentially harmful compounds, Rosenberg said. Manufacturers of hair relaxers and hair dyes are not required to list all ingredients of their products on the packages, as some may be considered trade secrets, she said. "Because hair relaxers are more widely used by younger African-American women than they are used by older African-American women, a connection with increased risk of breast cancer in younger women seemed possible," Rosenberg said. "Also, millions of African-American women use hair relaxers, and substances that are used by millions of women over a span of many years should be monitored for safety." The researchers found that younger women used hair relaxers more than older women did. They also discovered that the majority of women used hair relaxers before age 20 and a third used the chemicals at least seven times a year.

But when they examined the association between use of hair relaxers and breast cancer, based on 574 newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer identified during the follow-up period, they found no connection between use of relaxers and breast cancer incidence overall or among the younger women, even if use had been frequent and of long duration.

The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute. Co-authors include Julie Palmer, Sc.D., and Deborah Boggs, M.S., of Boston University School of Public Health, and Lucile Adams-Campbell, Ph.D., of Howard University Cancer Center. ###

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes nearly 26,000 basic, translational, and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 70 other countries.

AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special Conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment, and patient care.

AACR publishes five major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Its most recent publication, CR, is a magazine for cancer survivors, patient advocates, their families, physicians, and scientists. It provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship, and advocacy.

Contact: Greg Lester lester@aacr.org 267-646-0554 American Association for Cancer Research

A Survey of African American College Students: Reactions to the Terrorist Acts of September 11, 2001

ED456377 - A Survey of African American College Students: Reactions to the Terrorist Acts of September 11, 2001. Full text in PDF format. ERIC #: ED456377 Title: A Survey of African American College Students: Reactions to the Terrorist Acts of September 11, 2001. Authors: Duncan, Cecil.

Descriptors: Black Colleges; Black Students; College Students; Coping; Higher Education; Interpersonal Communication; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Resilience (Personality); Student Reaction; Student Surveys

A survey instrument was developed to identify the impact the World Trade Center and the Pentagon bombings of September 11, 2001, had on African American college students attending an Historically Black College-University (HBCU) in the South. The survey was administered to 136 students 8 days after the bombings in an effort to gain insight into their immediate impact on a select group of Americans.

Students who participated in the study appeared to have experienced a number of reactions typical of persons who were in close proximity to a disaster but were not direct victims themselves. They did not have symptoms consistent with posttraumatic stress syndrome disorder.

Most had serious concerns about flying, while a sizable minority felt unsafe in general. Few blamed Middle Easterners in general for the terrorist acts, and even fewer wanted profiling to be used as a means of identifying terrorists. The respondents appeared to be doing what they needed to do to return to normalcy, and talking about the incident may be the most therapeutic thing they did. Several limitations of the study are discussed, including that it occurred just eight days after the bombings, which may have been too early to assess the impact on the participants. (JDM)

African-Americans twice as likely as Caucasians to die following a liver operation

Timothy M. Pawlik received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. He completed his surgical training at the University of Michigan Hospital and spent two years at the Massachusetts General Hospital as a surgical oncology research fellow. Dr. Pawlik went on for advanced training in surgical oncology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. His main clinical interests include alimentary tract surgery, with a special interest in hepatic and pancreatobiliary diseases. Dr. Pawlik also has an interest in medical ethics and completed a fellowship in medical ethics at the Harvard School of Public Health as well as a Masters in Theology from Harvard Divinity School in Boston.

CHICAGO (September 3, 2008) – New research published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows African Americans are more than twice as likely as Caucasians to die in the hospital after surgical removal of part of the liver -- an increasingly used procedure for the treatment of liver cancer. In recent years, a large body of evidence has emerged revealing significant racial disparities in health care and outcomes in the United States. Previous studies have documented racial disparities in surgical mortality after cardiovascular and cancer procedures. Because of such studies, the identification and elimination of these disparities has become a national public health priority. "Our study shows a racial divide in regards to in-hospital mortality after major hepatectomy," according to Timothy Pawlik, MD, MPH, FACS, Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md. "This finding is of special note because of the magnitude of the observed gap in outcomes." Using hospital discharge data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, researchers retrospectively reviewed 3,552 patients who underwent major hepatectomy between 1998 and 2005. The overall racial makeup was 59 percent Caucasian, 6 percent African-American, 5 percent Hispanic, 7 percent Asian/Pacific Islander and 24 percent other or unknown, which included records with missing race and those from states that do not report race. "There has previously not been any research on racial disparities in the outcomes of liver resection, but it is an important issue to examine as the use of hepatic resection has increased dramatically in the U.S.,"

added Hari Nathan, MD, department of surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the study's lead investigator. "Given this increase, studies are needed to clarify the nature of this disparity and identify targets for intervention."

The odds of dying following this type of liver operation were twice as high for African Americans compared with Caucasians. After adjustment for clinical, hospital, and socioeconomic risk factors, data revealed that African-American patients were twice as likely to die compared to Caucasian patients (odds ratio 2.15, 95 percent confidence, interval 1.28 to 3.61).

Researchers believe that differences in preoperative health status may underlie some of the observed disparity in outcomes, a theory supported by the finding that African-American patients who died in the hospital as a complication of a hepatectomy did so much sooner than their Caucasian counterparts. Hospital factors may also explain racial disparities in outcomes, insofar as minority patients might receive care at hospitals with generally poorer outcomes. ###

About the American College of Surgeons

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 72,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. For more information, visit www.facs.org.

Contact: Sally Garneski pressinquiry@facs.org 312-202-5409 Weber Shandwick Worldwide

Periodic limb movement during sleep is less common in African-Americans; associated with insomnia

Christopher L. Drake, Ph.D. Make An Appointment 1-800-HENRYFORD (1-800-436-7936) Specialties: Sleep Medicine Office Locations: Henry Ford Hospital 2799 West Grand Boulevard Detroit, MI, 48202 Board Certifications: American Board of Sleep Medicine. Post Graduate Training: Ph.D. - Bowling Green State University (OH) - Psychology

Study is the first to determine the prevalence of periodic limb movements during sleep in a population-based sample using standardized criteria Westchester, Ill. – A study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep is the first to objectively determine the prevalence of periodic limb movements during sleep (PLMS) in a population-based sample, finding a lower prevalence of PLMS in African-Americans and a higher rate of insomnia complaints in people with PLMS. Results show that the overall prevalence of PLMS is 7.6 percent, with a lower prevalence of 4.3 percent in African-Americans and a higher prevalence of 9.3 percent in Caucasians. Complaints of insomnia are reported by 45 percent of people with PLMS, compared with only 25 percent of people without PLMS. "The study is consistent with the idea that genetic factors may play a role in the development of PLMS," said principal investigator Christopher L. Drake, PhD, senior bioscientific staff at the Sleep Disorders and Research Center at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Mich.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, PLMS involves uncontrollable, repetitive muscle movements such as extending the big toe or bending the ankle. These frequent movements occur in one or both legs during sleep and often result in brief arousals, and in some cases, full awakenings from sleep.

The AASM also reports that low brain iron may play a role in worsening PLMS. According to the authors, studies demonstrate higher iron stores in African-Americans, providing a possible explanation for the racial differences found in the study. The results also are consistent with previous findings of racial differences for PLMS in children as young as five to seven years of age, suggesting that the racial differences found in adults may be present from an early age and pointing to potential genetic factors.

Data were collected as a part of a larger epidemiological study on daytime sleepiness in the general population of tri-county Detroit. The final sample included 592 individuals between the ages of 18 and 65 years, with an average age of 42 years. African-Americans made up 31.5 percent of the study group.

Participants were evaluated during a 24-hour laboratory assessment, which included an overnight polysomnogram and a five-nap, daytime, multiple sleep latency test. Participants also recorded sleep diaries two weeks prior to the laboratory assessment.

PLMS was defined as an average of 15 or more leg movements per hour of sleep. Individuals with PLMS were slightly but significantly older. Self-reported symptoms of either sleepiness or sleep disturbance were higher in participants with PLMS (56 percent) than in those without PLMS (29 percent). ###

Information for patients and the public about PLMS is available from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine at www.sleepeducation.com/Disorder.aspx?id=10.

Sleep is the official journal of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. For a copy of the study, "Periodic Limb Movements during Sleep: Population Prevalence, Clinical Correlates and Racial Differences," or to arrange an interview with an AASM spokesperson, please contact Kelly Wagner, AASM public relations coordinator, at (708) 492-0930, ext. 9331, or kwagner@aasmnet.org.

How media covered Katrina aftermath affects response by blacks and whites

Cheryl Kaiser is an Assistant Professor in the UW Department of Psychology. She is affiliated with the Social/Personality and Diversity Science Research Areas. Broadly speaking, her research examines the self and social perception, particularly as these topics relate to prejudice and intergroup relations. Much of her research examines factors that affect whether individuals perceive prejudice-related threats, their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to these threats, and the implications of how they cope with these threats for well being and interpersonal relationships. She is also interested in the application of this research for law and legal processes. Cheryl R. Kaiser Department of Psychology University of Washington Seattle, Washington 98195 U.S.A. Phone: (206) 616-1435 ckaiser@u.washington.edu

New research shows that black and white Americans responded differently when exposed to a video presentation that described Hurricane Katrina and then blamed the botched relief efforts on one of two causes: either government incompetence or racism, because the majority of Katrina's victims were black. "In laboratory experiments over the last decade, whites have tended to have negative reactions including negative emotions and attitudes towards minorities when racism was blamed for or cited as the reason for something. When Katrina happened it offered an opportunity to look at a real world problem that came into our living rooms and the belief system, or world view, that everyone has," said Cheryl Kaiser, a University of Washington assistant professor of psychology and lead author of a new study. The study is noteworthy because, unlike previous research that looked at claims of discrimination, whites did not express outright negativity toward blacks. Instead it indicated that whites who were exposed to racial discrimination claims displayed strong positive attitudes toward whites rather than negative attitudes at blacks. Blacks tended to have less favorable attitudes toward whites after seeing the race-blame video than the government-incompetence video, but the difference was not significant. Blacks also showed strong positive attitudes toward blacks in both scenarios.

For the study Kaiser and her colleagues from Syracuse and Michigan State universities recruited 93 white and 60 black undergraduate college students. The majority in each group were women.

Each participant viewed the video presentation individually on a computer monitor equipped with headphones. All of the students watched a five-minute clip taken from a National Geographic program about the hurricane. Then the video content was divided into two experimental conditions.

In a race-blame condition, half the participants viewed a six-minute series of segments in which Katrina victims, public figures and journalists claimed that the government had responded slowly to the disaster because the majority of victims were black. The other participants saw a six-minute government-incompetence series of clips in which victims, public figures and journalists said government incompetence caused the ineffective disaster response. Then all of the participants viewed a three-minute slide show, consisting of 96 photographs, showing the physical damage and physical suffering caused by the hurricane.

After the video presentation, each participant filled out questionnaires that assessed their attachment to their own racial group and their attitudes toward blacks, whites and a number of filler groups such as teachers and politicians. In addition, they were asked to provide an explanation for the disaster response they recalled being made most often in the video they saw.

Kaiser said that media coverage that focused on racial explanations for the aftermath of Katrina did affect white Americans' attitudes and could have potentially important consequences for intergroup relations.

"Our sense is some white Americans couldn't understand the claims of racism and it was hard for them to think skin color was responsible for people surviving the hurricane and getting relief. This study helps us understand why discrimination claims make a large number of people in the U.S. uncomfortable. These claims act as a threat to the perceived fairness of our system and people who are at the top, generally white, want to maintain the status quo," she said. ###

The paper, published in the current issue of the journal Social Justice Research, was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation. Co-authors are Collette Eccleston, an assistant psychology professor at Syracuse, and Nao Hagiwara, a psychology doctoral student at Michigan State.

Contact: Joel Schwarz joels@u.washington.edu 206-543-2580 University of Washington

Study points to 1 cause of higher rates of transplanted kidney rejection in blacks

HLA region of Chromosome 6

A Johns Hopkins research team reports it may have an explanation for at least some of the higher organ rejection rates seen among black - as compared to white - kidney transplant recipients. In a study of 50 healthy adult men, 25 black and 25 white, significantly different amounts of certain immune system cells were found between the races. These cells, known as human leukocyte antigen-specific, or HLA-specific B cells, when "sensitized" produce antibodies linked to transplanted kidney rejection, says Andrea Zachary, professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins and lead researcher of the study.

It's been long known that HLA-reactive antibodies produced by B cells are one of the ways that transplanted organs are rejected. Zachary developed a novel method for counting HLA-specific B cells more accurately, leading to the hypothesis that B cell numbers make a difference in transplant retention and rejection.

"Now that we have an accurate way to count these cells, we are able to confirm what we long suspected, that blacks might have a bigger army of HLA-specific B cells," says Zachary who presented her findings at the Congress of the International Transplant Society in Sydney, Australia on Aug. 12.

Zachary says that patients become sensitized when exposed to HLA in blood or tissue that is not their own. Sensitized HLA-specific B cells then produce antibodies that attack transplanted organs containing foreign HLA. Patients can become sensitized from a blood transfusion, transplantation or pregnancy.

"If the recipient is not sensitized, B cells represent only a patient's potential for making antibodies," says Zachary. "However about a third of patients in need of a kidney are sensitized since they're often on their second or third transplantation and may have undergone transfusions. In the study, Zachary and her team gathered blood samples from 25 adult black males and 25 adult white males. They were all healthy and all non-sensitized. They also gathered blood samples from 10 sensitized adult black males and 25 sensitized white males.

Results showed that the black non-sensitized males tested had an average of 17.2 percent more HLA-sensitive B cells than the white non-sensitized males tested. Among the sensitized group, black males had an average of 22.9 percent more HLA-sensitive B cells than white males.

HLA antigens are proteins that sit on the surface of blood and tissue cells. Each person has a specific set, similar to a fingerprint. Rejection of a transplant occurs when the recipient's immune system sees the donor's HLA antigens as foreign and attacks those antigens with cells or antibodies. The amount of antibody made depends on the number of B cells a recipient has.

"Knowing that blacks have an increased number of HLA-specific B cells - which increases their opportunity for antibody-mediated rejection - we may be able to customize treatments for black recipients to account for these differences and lessen the likelihood that the organ will be rejected," says Zachary. ###

Additional Johns Hopkins researchers who worked on this study are Mary S. Leffell, Ph.D.; and Dessislava Kopchaliifka, Ph.D., of the Department of Medicine and J. Keith Melancon, M.D., of the Department of Surgery.

Contact: Eric Vohr evohr1@jhmi.edu 410-955-8665 Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions