PHILADELPHIA (April 14, 2023)—The African-Caribbean Cancer Consortium (AC3), a multi-institutional collaborative network that focuses on studies of cancer risk and outcomes among populations of African ancestry, will be recognized with the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Team Science Award at the AACR Annual Meeting 2023, to be held April 14-19 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Camille Ragin, PhD, MPH, Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Fox Chase Cancer Center, heads the network.
“It is the scientific diversity and dedication of our AC3 team that makes us impactful. We are a multidisciplinary team of basic, translational, and clinical scientists, and advocate from countries within the African diaspora,” said Ragin, who is also a professor in the Cancer Prevention and Control research program at Fox Chase. “We have investigators in Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States. We are committed to developing minority scientists to bring diverse insights and hypotheses to more quickly propel cancer discoveries for prevention and treatment.”
AACR offers the Team Science Award in partnership with Eli Lilly and Company. It acknowledges an exemplary interdisciplinary research team for their work in advancing the fundamental knowledge of cancer or for applying existing knowledge to advancing detection, prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. It is awarded to a team focused on a specific scientific goal that otherwise would not be realized by any single component of the team.
AC3 is a broad-based resource for education, training, and research on etiology, screening, prevention, treatment, and survivorship related to cancer in populations of African descent. The goals of the consortium are to build both knowledge and infrastructure and to advance the science of cancer prevention and control in populations of African ancestry.
The consortium started in 2006 in response to Black cancer disparities and the inadequate inclusion of Blacks in studies and biorepositories. AC3 has since conducted a number of novel research projects, including:
- studies of biomarkers of susceptibility to, and outcomes from, prostate cancer among men of African ancestry;
- cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in Black women from the U.S., Jamaica, Tobago, Barbados, Guadeloupe, and the Bahamas;
- assessments of knowledge, perception, and attitudes of HPV and the HPV vaccine in the U.S. and the Caribbean.
The AC3 team has over 150 publications in peer-reviewed science journals and has several cancer subspecialty working groups. It is currently conducting a multinational study of prostate and breast cancer patients of African descent in nine countries in the Caribbean and Africa, as well as at four sites in the U.S., for molecular characterization of their tumors to inform therapeutic advancement. “Given the diversity of Black ancestry, understanding Black carcinogenesis and outcomes may illuminate and catalyze discovery for all of us,” Ragin said.
“We are very honored and humbled by this recognition,” she added. “Team science is the most powerful and effective approach for us to move cancer science forward. In so doing, we can address the incredible complexity of cancer vulnerability and disparities. This type of award acknowledges the value and impact that the AC3’s work has had in the context of health equity and disparities. That’s very important.”
Ragin will accept the award on behalf of the entire AC3 team during the AACR Annual Meeting 2023 Opening Ceremony on Sunday, April 16.