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August 2018
Vol 7 Issue 3
From the Editor
Welcome to the Summer edition of CHATS. We hope you are enjoying special time with family and friends. Unfortunately, this time of year is also fire season and once again our state is battling numerous fires in every corner of California. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those that are impacted by these fires. A lot of heartwarming stories of compassion and help from unexpected people and places have come forward and for that I am grateful. Kindness is the silver lining in all of this.
We start this issue with an article from Rosemary Cress, CRGC Director of Research, on a new project on prostate cancer in which CRGC is involved. Amy Klepheke
, PhDc, and Eric Stewart, both CRGC Research Associates, also contributed to this article.
We also share with you news from the recent NAACCR (North American Association of Central Cancer Registries) Annual Conference. One of our very own staff members received the Connie Percy Award. The Constance L Percy Award for Distinguished Service is to recognize an individual who contributed exceptional volunteer service to NAACCR during the past 12 months, or sustained, current, and long-term contributions to the organization. Read below to see who received this honor!
We again provide a specific link to the CRGC website where you can find information regarding the changes coming in 2018. Currently posted are four webinars hosted by NAACCR on 2018 Implementation. We will continue to post relevant webinars and resource information to keep you informed. Please remember to wait until the CCR notifies all registrars when 2018 cases can be transmitted.
We hope you find these articles interesting and informative. CRGC staff thank each of you
for your continued support and dedication to providing data of the highest quality!
Mignon
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RESPOND Study (Research on Prostate Cancer in Men of African Ancestry: Defining the Roles of Genetics, Tumor Markers and Social Stress)
Rosemary D. Cress, DrPH,
Research Director, CRGC
Amy Klapheke, MPH, PhDc, Research Associate, CRGC
Eric Stewart, Research Associate, CRGC
The Cancer Registry of Greater California (CRGC) is excited to have been invited to participate in a large multi-state study of prostate cancer in black men. African American men are more likely to develop prostate cancer than men of any other racial or ethnic group, and they are more likely to be diagnosed with aggressive disease. The greater burden of prostate cancer in African American men remains one of the most important unanswered health disparities in the U.S. Over the past 20 years, prior studies investigating this disparity have been small and limited to addressing only a few questions. As a result, these studies have provided little insight into why these men are at increased risk of aggressive disease and have worse survival from prostate cancer. To better understand this priority heath issue, a comprehensive study that includes large numbers of African American men is needed.
Over the next five years, the RESPOND study (Research on Prostate Cancer in Men of African Ancestry: Defining the Roles of Genetics, Tumor Markers, and Social Stress)
will recruit 10,000 African American men with prostate cancer from across the U.S. Participating sites include all three SEER registries in California as well as Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Michigan and New Jersey. CRGC expects to recruit nearly 800 men from its catchment area starting this fall. This national study is more than 20-times the size of any previous prostate cancer study in African American men and will ensure that African American men across the U.S. will be represented. This cohort will initially focus on identifying social and biological factors that may be linked with prostate cancer development, recurrence, and survival among African American men. Disentangling social and biological factors that contribute to prostate cancer is a public health priority. Participation includes completing a questionnaire, providing a saliva sample and allowing researchers access to tumor tissue, which is already available from their physicians. This information will then be used by researchers to study how exposure to stress over a lifetime, inherited susceptibility (i.e. genes), and tumor characteristics contribute to the development of prostate cancer and aggressive disease. Doing so will lead to more effective interventions for preventing the disease, reducing late-stage diagnosis, and developing novel treatment strategies for African American men.
Funding for this study comes from the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Participation is absolutely critical to the success of this study, as well as all health-related research in African Americans. Only through hearing from African American men with prostate cancer will we learn about the factors that influence their risk of developing this disease. Thus, outreach is a major component of this study. NIH issued a major press release on July 17, and participating institutions are also issuing press releases and publicizing the study. The study received additional publicity from an article in US News and World Report:
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Winny Roshala: NAACCR's 2018 Constance L. Percy Distinguished Award Recipient
Winny Roshala, CRGC Director, Data Quality Control and Compliance Officer was one of two recipients awarded the Constance L. Percy Distinguished Award at the NAACCR annual meeting held June 13-15th in Pittsburgh, PA. Jennifer Ruhl, of NCI SEER was the other recipient of this prestigious award. Betsy Kohler, NAACCR Executive Director presented Winny with the award and told the audience the following as background information.
"Winny has been a longstanding contributor to NAACCR, going back to her membership on the Uniform Data Standards committee in 2000. As a former NAACCR board member and a charter member of the Standards and Registry Development Steering Committee, her hands-on-acquired understanding of data acquisition and quality, encompassing Registry Operations as well as Data Standards, have been invaluable. Winny's clear and timely oral presentations at the NAACCR annual meetings have alerted many of us to issues we might not have been aware of. She has been an active contributor on the ICD-O-3 and Volume II workgroups, and she has co-chaired the last three Implementation Guidelines task forces - including meeting the needs for substantial 2018 transition. Above all, her interactions and contributions have always been offered with clarity, respect and consideration for her colleagues. Winny exemplifies the combination of comprehensive understanding, quest for optimizing solutions, and interpersonal civility that NAACCR has continued to provide in our support of cancer surveillance."
Congratulations Winny!
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2018 Data Implementation Posted on CRGC Website
CRGC has created a special location on our website regarding 2018 Implementation and Data Changes to help keep our registrar community informed. Currently posted are four webinars, hosted by NAACCR, that we found especially helpful. Check them out when you can!
We will continue to post resources and other webinars on 2018 Data Changes to this site as they become available. We hope that having one spot to look for information regarding the changes coming in 2018 will prove helpful to each of you. It is under CRGC Website/Registrar Resources/Registrar Education.
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Cancer Registrar Feedback
If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for Chats contact Mignon Dryden at
[email protected].
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Cancer Registry of Greater California
Public Health Institute
1825 Bell Street, Suite 102
Sacramento, California 95825
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