Sign In

Research

News & Views

Breaking News

Research released on health insurance literacy among patients receiving outpatient cancer treatment

​​ACS researchers stress initiatives to expand access to healthcare and screening facilities to improve early detection and treatment for lung cancer.​

Dr. Jingxuan Zhao led a study published July 17 in the journal Cancer that examines patients’ understanding of health insurance terms and concepts and quantifies health insurance literacy (HIL) levels by key sociodemographic factors.

Nearly three-quarters of patients had high HIL self-efficacy and high HIL knowledge (70.5%), understanding basic insurance terms, such as premiums and deductibles. Relatively low percentages of patients correctly answered questions about the meaning of provider networks, health insurance formularies, and calculating out-of-pocket spending in scenarios when insurers pay a portion of allowed charges.

In conclusion, efforts to improve HIL and navigation of health insurance plan features are required, especially for socioeconomically vulnerable patients.

ACS authors included  K. Robin Yabroff PhD, MBA .

Like and share the news on X.



  • American Cancer Society, Trial Library, and Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Consortium collaborate to support recruitment of Black patients for clinical trials

    ​New study shows this may hinder identifying patient financial needs and tracking outcomes of associated referrals.

    Despite declines in overall cancer mortality in the United States, deaths from prostate cancer in Black men represent the greatest mortality disparity in oncology. Black men are two to four times more likely to die from prostate cancer than any other racial and ethnic group. Additionally, less than 5% of participants in oncology clinical trials are Black men. Clinical trials provide an avenue for patients to contribute to research findings for future generations and may offer access to cutting-edge therapies.

    ACS is committed to enhancing racial diversity in clinical trials. To increase Black men with prostate cancer participation in clinical trials, ACS on July 9 announced a funding opportunity to support community oncology practices and hospitals in their efforts for clinical trial enrollment. Eligible practice-based applicants must have direct patient interaction and the capability to participate in clinical trials.

    “Diversifying participation in clinical trials is crucial to decreasing prostate cancer deaths for everyone,” said Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer. “It's time to move beyond words and put into action a plan to help clinicians and patients. ACS is committed to supporting research and evidence-based care to improve the health of all communities.”

    To better support efforts toward recruitment of patients to clinical trials, ACS will pair awarded community oncology and urology practices with the Trial Library platform, which provides patient identification and navigation support through software and technology-enabled services integrated in community practices. To build upon existing infrastructure and promote the sustainability of clinical trial enrollment efforts, ACS will support access to the PCCTC to help awarded teams enroll patients on hypothesis-driven trials of novel agents and combinations that could prolong the lives of patients with prostate cancer. “

    Like and share the ACS LinkedIn post and Dr. Dahut's post on X about this news.


  • New study finds 40% of cancer cases and almost half of all deaths in the US linked to modifiable risk factors

    ​ACS researchers stress the need for broad and equitable implementation of known preventive initiatives to reduce the risk of cancer.

    A new study released on July 11 led by researchers at the ACS finds four in 10 cancer cases and about one-half of all cancer deaths in adults 30 years old and older in the United States (or 713,340 cancer cases and 262,120 cancer deaths in 2019) could be attributed to modifiable risk factors, including cigarette smoking, excess body weight, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, diet, and infections. Cigarette smoking was by far the leading risk factor, contributing to nearly 20% of all cancer cases and 30% of all cancer deaths. The findings are published in the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. Like and share the ACS post on X about this news.

    “Despite considerable declines in smoking prevalence during the past few decades, the number of lung cancer deaths attributable to cigarette smoking in the United States is alarming. This finding underscores the importance of implementing comprehensive tobacco control policies in each state to promote smoking cessation, as well as heightened efforts to increase screening for early detection of lung cancer, when treatment could be more effective,” said Dr. Farhad Islami, senior scientific director, cancer disparity research, and lead author of the report. 

    Other ACS authors participating in this study include Dr. Emily Marlow, Dr. Marjorie McCullough, and Dr. Alpa Patel.

    In addition, the news was covered by several media outlets, including:



  • New study finds most eligible US adults are not getting screened for lung cancer

    ​ACS researchers stress initiatives to expand access to healthcare and screening facilities to improve early detection and treatment for lung cancer.

    A new study announced June 10, led by American Cancer Society researchers, shows less than one-in-five eligible individuals in the United States were up to date (UTD) with recommended . The screening uptake was much lower in persons without health insurance or usual source of care and in Southern states with the highest lung cancer burden. The findings are published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) Internal Medicine.

    “Although lung cancer screening rates continue to be considerably low, this research does show an improvement over screening rates reported for previous years,” said Dr. Priti Bandi, scientific director, cancer risk factors and screening surveillance research at ACS. “But we clearly, still have a long way to go. We must push harder to move the needle in the right direction.”

    “Early detection with LCS is critical because lung cancer symptoms often don't appear in the early stages, but when diagnosed and treated early, survival is markedly improved,” added Bandi. “National and state-based initiatives to expand access to healthcare and screening facilities are needed to continue to improve, prevention, early detection and treatment for lung cancer to help save lives.”

    ACS’ advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), continues to work at all levels of government to advocate for access to lung cancer screenings. “This research further amplifies the critical need for reducing all barriers to access to care to ensure people are able to immediately utilize preventive and early detection screenings at no cost,” said Lisa Lacasse, president of the ACS CAN. “Expanding Medicaid in the 10 states that have yet to do so would significantly improve access to these lifesaving screenings and decrease lung cancer deaths, as well as eliminating patient costs for screening and follow-up tests by all payers, bringing us closer to ending cancer as we know it, for everyone.”

    Other ACS researchers contributing to the study include Jessica Star, Tyler Kratzer and Dr. Robert Smith. Dr. Ahmedin Jemal is senior author of the research.

    For information on tobacco cessation, read here. 

    Several media outlets covered the news, including Newsday.


  • Cost of care discussions rarely documented for patients with advanced cancer

    ​New study shows this may hinder identifying patient financial needs and tracking outcomes of associated referrals.

    A new large population-based pilot study, announced June 13, led by researchers at the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute shows cost discussions were infrequently documented in medical records of patient diagnosed with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and melanoma, which may hinder identifying patient financial needs and tracking outcomes of associated referrals. The findings are published in the journal Cancer.

    “Cancer diagnosis and informed treatment decision-making can be complicated, especially when  the costs of care and the potential for patients to experience financial hardship are considered,” said lead study author Dr. Robin Yabroff, scientific vice president, health services research at the ACS. “Professional organizations have long recommended discussions about treatment costs as part of high-quality care, but these discussions continue to be uncommon. We need to do a better job of ensuring that treatment cost discussions between patients and provider teams occur and are well-documented, especially when high-cost treatment options are available.”

    “Efforts to increase cost of care discussions and relevant referrals, as well as their documentation are warranted as part of ongoing quality care improvement,” added Yabroff.

    Like and share the news on X. Also, like and share the ACS News post on X congratulation Dr. Yabroff on becoming a Fellow of ACSO. 


  • ACS, National Cancer Institute, and Cancer Research UK present groundbreaking cancer prevention research conference

    ​Event is opportunity for researchers across disciplines to engage in, learn about, and discuss the latest concepts.

    The American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, and Cancer Research UK announced that they hosted their first annual conference on cancer prevention research, June 25 – 27, in Boston, MA. The event brings together scientists from discovery biology through translational and behavioral science to population and implementation research to create a thriving multidisciplinary cancer prevention research community. The goal is to help create a “new look” for cancer prevention in the research community, and to showcase research to better understand cancer aetiology, risk factors, intervention development and implementation, and health inequalities in cancer prevention.

    “This is an exciting opportunity for researchers across disciplines to engage in, learn about, and discuss the latest concepts in cancer prevention research,” said Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer at ACS. “The conference will be built on a philosophy of using advances in mechanistic understanding to inform more effective ways of preventing cancer.”  

    Like and share CEO Dr. Karen Knudsen’s post on X in which she calls the conference “historic.”


  • ACS releases update to Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Facts & Figures

    ​State-level lung cancer screening data is now available.

    The American Cancer Society released an update June 17 to Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Facts & Figures, 2023-2024. With this update, state-level lung cancer screening data is available for the first time. 

    Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Facts & Figures was released last spring; the report offers a look at progress toward modifiable cancer risk factors and behaviors. The report found both favorable and unfavorable changes in major cancer risk factors, preventive behaviors and services, and screenings in the United States. This latest update focuses on tables and figures within the report.

    A few key highlights: 

    • The 2024 CPED F&F Tables & Figures provide the latest data on modifiable cancer risk factors and screening at national and state levels. 
    • State-level data on lung cancer screening includes estimates of eligibility and screening percentages across the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico for 2022.
    • The report also includes updated state-level 2022 data on breast, cervical, colorectal (CRC), and prostate cancer screening from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System.
    • Updated state-level 2022 data on smoking prevalence, obesity prevalence, diet and physical inactivity, and HPV vaccination coverage is also included.

    "We are excited about the new lung cancer screening data because it will: provide data for all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico, allowing state-level program and policy staff to have the latest screening information to advocate and plan for lung cancer screening and prevention,” said Dr. Priti Bandi, scientific director, risk factors and screening research.

    Dr. Bandi published a recent study showing most eligible US adults are not getting screened for lung cancer, making this sort of information even more relevant to team members. 

    Why this report is important

    We know 42% of the 611,720 cancer deaths projected to occur in the US in 2024 are expected to be attributable to modifiable cancer risk factors, such as:

    • Cigarette smoking
    • Excess body weight
    • Alcohol intake
    • Physical inactivity
    • Unhealthy diet
    • Obesity

    These risk factors are potentially all avoidable through lifestyle changes. Cancer screening tests can further prevent thousands of additional cancer cases and deaths. This latest Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Facts & Figures report offers a look at progress toward those modifiable cancer risk factors and behaviors.


  • Investigators receive $28M in new research and career development grants

    ​Funding includes ACS Research Professor Award and ACS IMPACT Research Professorship Award.​

    The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, non-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has approved funding for $28 million in new Extramural Discovery Science (EDS) research and career development grants. The awards will fund investigators at institutions across the United States starting in July 2024.

    "We are very proud to announce these new grant awardees and their critically important research projects,” said Dr. Christina Annunziata, senior vice president, Extramural Discovery Science. “These scientists have dedicated their lives to increasing our understanding of better ways to treat and survive cancer and we look forward to partnering with them in our collective mission to help save lives.”

    ACS seeks to improve the lives of cancer patients, families, and caregivers through research, patient services, and advocacy. These awards require fundamental, preclinical, clinical, population, and implementation/dissemination research as well as multidisciplinary team science to tackle the complexities of cancers and cancer care.

    “We are excited these grants will fund a range of innovative research across different cancer types,” said Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer. “These studies include intervention approaches, and research methodologies that highlight basic molecular research, immunotherapy, preclinical and clinical trials, prospective cohort studies, and even AI and computational machine learning.”

    During this grant period, there are two new recipients of the ACS Professor Award and two new recipients of the ACS IMPACT Professorship Award. These are highly prestigious awards for investigators who have made seminal contributions in cancer research. The award also recognizes exceptional track records in leadership, service, and mentoring in cancer research. The ACS IMPACT Professor Award was created to help advise ACS in efforts to address the public health burden of prostate cancer through ACS’ IMPACT initiative – Improving Mortality from Prostate Cancer Together. 

    Grantees included the following. Read more details about their work in the ACS press room. 

    ACS Professors

    Shuji Ogino, M.D., Ph.D., M.S.
    ACS Clinical Research Professor
    Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Inc. 
    Project Title: “Integrative Transdisciplinary Study of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer” 

    Ann Partridge, M.D., M.P.H. 
    ACS Clinical Research Professor
    Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
    Project Title: “Clinical Research Professor”  

    IMPACT Professorships

    Daniel George, M.D.
    ACS IMPACT Professorship in Prostate Cancer
    Duke University School of Medicine 
    Project Title: “Race-based cohort trials to improve outcomes for Black men”

    Christopher Haiman, Sc.D. 
    ACS IMPACT Professorship in Prostate Cancer
    University of Southern California (USC)
    Project Title: “ACS IMPACT Research Professorship in Prostate Cancer”   

    ACS is also proud to announce two recipients of Mission Boost Stage II grants. The grants are designed to support current and past ACS grantees working to translate their initial basic research into human testing by funding innovative high-risk/high-reward projects.

    Mission Boost Stage II Grants

    Eben Rosenthal, M.D. 
    Vanderbilt University Medical Center
    Mission Boost Stage II Grantee
    Project Title: “Minimally Invasive Lymph Node Staging in Head and Neck Cancer”
    Rosenthal was the previous recipient of a Research Scholar Grant from 2006-2010 and a Stage I Mission Boost Grant from 2021-2023.

    Lei Xu, M.D., Ph.D. 
    Massachusetts General Hospital
    Mission Boost Stage II Grantee
    Project Title: “Reprogramming the Tumor Microenvironment to Enhance Immunotherapy”
    Xu was the previous recipient of a Research Scholar Grant from 2012-2017 and a Stage I Mission Boost Grant from 2022-2023.

    Other research award highlights include:

    Biochemistry and Immunology of Cancer Research Program Grants

    Silvia Guglietta, Ph.D. 
    Medical University of South Carolina 
    Research Scholar Grant
    Project Title: “Targeting Complement Anaphylatoxin C3a Receptor to Break Immunotherapy Resistance in Colorectal Cancer”

    Zhijie ‘Jason’ Liu, Ph.D. 
    UT Health San Antonio 
    Research Scholar Grant
    Project Title: “Enhancer Mechanisms and Interventions in Breast Cancer Endocrine Resistance”

    Cell Biology and Preclinical Cancer Research Program Grants

    Pavithra Viswanath, Ph.D. 
    The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco 
    Research Scholar Grant
    Project Title: “Developing a Novel Tracer for Imaging Oncometabolic Activity in Cancer” 

    Marta Overchuk, Ph.D. 
    The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
    Postdoctoral Fellowship Grant
    Project Title: “Exploiting the Potential of Photochemically-induced Ferroptosis to De-Escalate Platinum Dose in Metastatic Ovarian Cancer”

    Clinical and Cancer Control Research Program Grants

    Jennifer McQuade, M.D. 
    University of Texas, MD Anderson
    Research Scholar Grant
    Project Title: “Neoadjuvant ipilimumab/nivolumab + Microbiota-Directed Prebiotic Dietary Intervention to Optimize Immune Response in Melanoma”

    Manisha Bahl, M.D., M.P.H. 
    Massachusetts General Hospital 
    Research Scholar Grant
    Project Title: “Unlocking the Black Box: Explainable Artificial Intelligence for Breast Cancer Risk Prediction”

    Background

    The ACS Extramural Discovery Science program currently supports more than 700 research grants across the cancer continuum at more than 200 institutions. With an investment of more than five billion dollars since 1946, ACS has funded 50 researchers who have gone on to be awarded the Nobel Prize. ACS funds many early career investigators, giving the best and the brightest a chance to explore cutting-edge ideas at a time when they might not find funding elsewhere.

    Like and share this news on X (formerly Twitter).




  • ACS publishes pioneering LGBTQ+ cancer report

    ​Publication highlights critical issues concerning cancer prevention, treatment, and care.

    In a first-of-its-kind study, the American Cancer Society on May 31 released “Cancer in People who Identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Gender-nonconforming (LGBTQ+)”. The article provides the latest statistics on the prevalence of cancer screening and modifiable risk factors in LGBTQ+ populations, as well as a review of literature on cancer occurrence and obstacles to cancer prevention and treatment. These important findings are published in the journal Cancer, alongside its consumer-friendly companion, Cancer Facts & Figures 2024 Special Section: Cancer in People Who Identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, or Gender-nonconforming, to coincide with the start of Pride month in June.

    Perhaps the greatest health disparity faced by LGBTQ+ communities is the presumption-of-care gap, which is the fear that a provider will refuse care due to gender identity or sexual orientation. The concern is especially valid for the 20% of this population who reside in the nine states where it is legal to refuse care to LGBTQ+ individuals due to “conscience clauses” that allow healthcare providers, staff, and insurers to deny care and services based on personal and religious beliefs.

    “One of the biggest take-aways from our report is that LGBTQ+ people are probably at higher risk for cancer, yet experience multiple barriers to high-quality healthcare access like discrimination and shortfalls in provider knowledge of their unique medical needs,” said Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director, cancer surveillance, at the American Cancer Society and senior author of the study. “Everyone deserves an equal opportunity to prevent and detect cancer early, which is why it’s so important to remove these roadblocks for this population.”

    LGBTQ+ individuals in the United States have elevated prevalence of smoking, excess body weight, and other factors that increase cancer risk. “Minority stress” is a likely contributor to behaviors like smoking that increase cancer risk according to other studies. Although these findings suggest cancer disparities, cancer incidence and mortality for this population are not available because sexual orientation and gender identity are not routinely collected in healthcare settings, despite the community’s willingness to report this information.

    “We are very proud of this report,” said Tyler Kratzer, associate scientist II, cancer surveillance research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the study. "It is meant to facilitate critical conversations around the need to improve the routine collection of sexual orientation and gender identity data at all levels of healthcare.”

    Read more about cancer risk factors for LGBTQ+ people, the approach that researchers took, and other key findings of the report.

    “All people should have a fair and just opportunity to live a longer, healthier life free from cancer,” said Lisa A. Lacasse, president of ACS’ advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. “As part of our mission to advocate for public policies that reduce the cancer burden for everyone, ACS CAN urges policymakers and lawmakers to prioritize policies that address the serious challenges and barriers to comprehensive access to health care that LGBTQ+ people experience. Importantly, passing laws that facilitate and increase the appropriate collection of sexual orientation and gender identity data is crucial to better understanding cancer disparities and to ultimately improving health outcomes.

    Other ACS researchers participating in the report include Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, Jessica Star, Dr. Farhad Islami, Dr. Priti Bandi, and Angela Giaquinto.

    Like and share on X (formerly Twitter) posts from ACS News and CEO Dr. Karen Knudsen.


back to top