Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

Published in

MDPI, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 4(19), p. 2455, 2022

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19042455

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Interrogating Patterns of Cancer Disparities by Expanding the Social Determinants of Health Framework to Include Biological Pathways of Social Experiences

Journal article published in 2022 by Celina I. Valencia ORCID, Francine C. Gachupin ORCID, Yamilé Molina, Ken Batai ORCID
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

The objective of this article is to call for integrating biological pathways of social experiences in the concept model of cancer disparities and social determinants of health (SDH) fields. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) populations experience more negative outcomes across the cancer continuum. Social conditions are instrumental in better understanding the contemporary and historical constructs that create these patterns of disparities. There is an equally important body of evidence that points to the ways that social conditions shape biological pathways. To date, these areas of research are, for the most part, separate. This paper calls for a bridging of these two areas of research to create new directions for the field of cancer disparities. We discuss inflammation, epigenetic changes, co-morbidities, and early onset as examples of the biological consequences of social conditions that BIPOC populations experience throughout their lifespan that may contribute to disproportionate tumorigenesis and tumor progression.