












































 
 
 
 
 

 
www.companyofscientists.com/index.php/chd                   e1                                              Cancer Health Disparities 

Commentary 

SPEECH: Synergistic Partnership for 
Enhancing Equity in Cancer Health 
Olorunseun O. Ogunwobi1,2 and Grace X. Ma3,4 

1Department of Biological Sciences, Hunter College of The City University of New York, New York, 
NY. 2Hunter College Center for Cancer Health Disparities Research (CCHDR), New York, NY 
3Center for Asian Health, and 4Department of Clinical Sciences, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, 
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. 

*Correspondence to email: oo158@hunter.cuny.edu or grace.ma@temple.edu 

ABSTRACT 
Minority populations disproportionately bear the burden of cancers in the United States of America. The 
Synergistic Partnership for Enhancing Equity in Cancer Health (SPEECH) was established to focus on 
research, workforce development and community-based activities relevant to cancer health disparities 
in the Philadelphia-New Jersey-New York City (PNN) corridor. SPEECH's overarching goal is to impact 
cancer health disparities through research and training, and by improving community health, cancer 
awareness, and access to good quality healthcare. 

KEYWORDS: Cancer; health disparities; minorities; translational research; collaboration; 
multidisciplinary research; team science 
 

Citation: Ogunwobi et al (2019) SPEECH: Synergistic partnership for enhancing equity in cancer health. 
Cancer Health Disparities. 4: e1.e5. doi:10.9777/chd.2019.1012 
 
 

mailto:oo158@hunter.cuny.edu
mailto:grace.ma@temple.edu


 
 
 
 
 

 
www.companyofscientists.com/index.php/chd                   e2                                              Cancer Health Disparities 

Commentary 

According to the Unites States (US) Census 
Bureau, in 2018 approximately 39% of the entire 
US population identified themselves as members 
of a minority group (US Census Bureau, 2018). 
These groups include African Americans (13.4%), 
Hispanics (18.1%), Asian Americans (5.8%), 
American Indian (1.3%) and Pacific Islanders (0.2%) 
(US Census Bureau, 2018). Presently, the US is 
much more ethnically diverse than it has been 
before (Caplan et al., 2016; US Census Bureau, 
2011). Racial and ethnic diversity is increasing 
rapidly along with population increase (Kolb et al., 
2006). Asian Americans are the fastest growing 
group in the United States (Narayan et al., 2010; 
Colby and Ortman, 2017). According to the United 
States Census Bureau, the Asian American 
population is projected to increase by 143% to 49 
million, accounting for 11.7% of the US population 
by 2060 (Colby and Ortman, 2017). The Hispanic 
population is the largest ethnic minority group in 
the US; it is projected to increase by 114.8% to 119 
million, accounting for 28.6% of the US population 
(Colby and Ortman, 2017). In addition, African 
Americans, or non-Hispanic Blacks, are the second 
largest minority group in the US, and would 
increase to 74 million, making up 14.3% of the 
total US population by 2060 (Colby and Ortman, 
2017). The Center for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) predicts that by 2050, the 
minority population would increase to nearly 50% 
of the entire U.S population (Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality, 2011; Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, 2004). In concert 
with the increasing diversity of the US population 
is the concomitant rise of health challenges that 
are most prevalent amongst minority groups. One 
major concern that remains an unfortunate reality 
is the disproportionate burden of disabilities, 
diseases and premature deaths experienced by 

racial and ethnic groups (Agency for Healthcare 
Research and Quality, 2011), whereby 
approximately 80% of combined deaths are 
associated with diabetes, heart disease, stroke, 
cancer, liver cirrhosis and homicide/accidents 
(Caplan et al., 2016). In the 2011 CDC Health 
Disparities and Inequalities Report, health 
disparities was defined as, “differences in health 
outcomes and their determinants between 
segments of the population, as defined by social, 
demographic, environmental, and geographic 
attributes” (Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, 2011). These “differences,” as they are 
called, were demonstrated to have a relationship 
to disease in the 1967 landmark Whitehall Study in 
Britain (O’Keefe et al., 2015). Similarly in the US, it 
was reported that disease incidence, mortality and 
survival rates were strongly associated with 
socioeconomic status, as well as race/ethnicity 
(O’Keefe et al., 2015). In addition to socioeconomic 
factors, leading health indicators that continue to 
contribute to health disparities in minorities include 
social environment, lifestyle behaviors and access 
to clinical preventative services (Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, 2004). Whereas 
only 9% of Whites in the US live below the poverty 
line, 21% of African Americans live below the 
poverty line (American Cancer Society, 2019). This 
difference likely correlates with African Americans 
being less likely to be diagnosed early enough to 
receive adequate clinical care, and are being more 
likely to die from a disease than Whites (American 
Cancer Society, 2019).  

Racial and ethnic disparities definitely exist for 
cancer. Although reports suggest that cancer-
related deaths in the overall US population are 
declining, cancer remains a significant public 
health burden among ethnic minority populations. 
Underserved African, Asian-Pacific, and Hispanic 



 
 
 
 
 

 
www.companyofscientists.com/index.php/chd                   e3                                              Cancer Health Disparities 

Commentary 

Americans have higher incidence of certain 
cancers, and higher rates of overall mortality due 
to distinct risk factors and cancer screening 
barriers. Specifically, cancer is the leading cause of 
death among Hispanics (20.7%) and Asians/Pacific 
Islanders (27.1%). It is the second leading cause of 
death for African Americans (25.1%) and American 
Indians/Alaskan Natives (18.6%) (Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). Cancer 
mortality and morbidity rates remain significantly 
higher among African American men and women, 
while overall survival rates are much shorter when 
compared to their white counterparts (Caplan et 
al., 2016; O’ Keefe et al., 2015; American Cancer 
Society, 2019). In fact, overall, African Americans 
experience a higher cancer death rate than that of 
all other ethnic groups, excluding American 
Indian/Alaska-Natives (Caplan et al., 2016; O’ Keefe 
et al., 2015). Asian Americans experience the 
highest incidence and mortality rates of both liver 
and stomach cancers, in correlation with incidence 
and prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection 
(National Institute on Minority Health and Health 
Disparities, 2016). Several initiatives and public 
awareness campaigns, such as the Executive Order 
on Increasing Participation of Asian Americans and 
Pacific Islanders in Federal Programs, and the 
Healthy People 2020 initiative, were launched as 
an attempt to address this problem (Kolb et al., 
2006; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
2004; US Department of Health and Human 
Services, 2000). However, addressing health 
disparities, including cancer health disparities, will 
require more than just an improving access to 
resources for minority groups. 

To address the problem of cancer health 
disparities in the Philadelphia-New Jersey-New 
York City (PNN) corridor, we have established the 
Synergistic Partnership for Enhancing Equity in 

Cancer Health (SPEECH). SPEECH is a collaborative 
effort between Hunter College of The City 
University of New York and Temple University/Fox 
Chase Cancer Center. SPEECH’s overarching goal 
is to better understand and reduce cancer health 
disparities in underserved and minority 
populations in the PNN area. One objective of 
SPEECH is to serve underrepresented groups by 
launching initiatives to expand knowledge, and 
implement evidence-based practices in African 
American, Asian American and Hispanic American 
communities in the PNN region. The partnership, 
which is spear-headed by Dr. Grace Ma of Temple 
University, and Dr. Olorunseun Ogunwobi of 
Hunter College, aims to focus on three core areas: 
(1) innovative and rigorous multidisciplinary cancer 
research including basic, translational and clinical 
cancer research; (2) building a diverse cancer 
research workforce through training and 
mentorship of undergraduate students, graduate 
students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty; 
and (3) community outreach through community-
based initiatives that promote cancer screening, 
early detection, prevention, and access to high-
quality cancer care. The activities of SPEECH are 
organized through five integrated cores: 
administrative core, planning and evaluation core, 
community outreach core, bioinformatics and 
biostatistics core, and research education core. 
SPEECH is initially focused on tackling liver cancer, 
lung cancer, and colorectal cancer. However, we 
have already started developing new projects 
focused on cancers in other organ sites. SPEECH 
will impact cancer health disparities by improving 
community health and cancer awareness, while 
implementing strategies to improve better 
healthcare access. Additionally, SPEECH will build a 
more diverse research and medical community, 
such that the cultural and scientific strengths of a 



 
 
 
 
 

 
www.companyofscientists.com/index.php/chd                   e4                                              Cancer Health Disparities 

Commentary 

more diverse cancer research workforce 
significantly contribute to solutions addressing 
cancer health disparities. 

Acknowledgements 
Fayola Levine assisted in compiling information 
used in writing this article. Olorunseun Ogunwobi 
and Grace Ma are supported by the TUFCCC/HC 
Regional Comprehensive Cancer Health Disparity 
Partnership, award number U54 CA221704(5) 
(Contact PIs: Grace X. Ma, PhD; Olorunseun O. 
Ogunwobi, MD, PhD) from the National Cancer 
Institute. The content of this article is solely the 
responsibility of the authors and does not 
necessarily represent the official views of the 
National Cancer Institute or the National Institutes 
of Health. 

Conflict of interest 
The authors declare that no competing or conflict of 
interests exists. The funders had no role in study 
design, writing of the manuscript, or decision to 
publish. 

Authors’ contributions 
OOO and GXM jointly conceived of this article. OOO 
wrote the first draft of the article. Both authors 
revised, and approved final version of the article. 

REFERENCES 
1.  U.S. Census Bureau. (2018). U.S. Census Bureau 

QuickFacts: UNITED STATES. https://www.census.gov/ 
quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST120216. Accessed March 8, 
2018. 

2.  Caplan, L.S., Akintobi, T.H., Gordon, T.K., Zellner, T., 
Smith, S.A., and Blumenthal, D.S. (2016). Reducing 
Disparities by way of a Cancer Disparities Research 
Training Program. J Health Disparities Res. Pract.  9, 103-
114. 

3.  U.S. Census Bureau. (2011). 2010 Census Shows America’s 
Diversity. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/ 
releases/archives/2010_census/cb11-cn125.html. Accessed 
March 20, 2019. 

4.  Kolb, B., Wallace, A.M., Hill, D., and Royce, M. (2006). 
Disparities in Cancer Care Among Racial and Ethnic 
Minorities. Cancer Network. https://www.cancernetwork. 
com/review-article/disparities-cancer-care-among-racial-
and-ethnic-minorities. Accessed March 20, 2019. 

5.  Narayan, K.M.V., Aviles-Santa, L., Oza-Frank, R., Pandey, 
M., Curb, J.D., McNeely, M., Araneta, M.R.G., 
Palaniappan, L., Rajpathak, S., Barrett-Connor, E., and 
Group, C.D. in A and PIPNW. (2010). Report of a National 
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Workshop: 
Heterogeneity in Cardiometabolic Risk in Asian 
Americans in the U.S.: Opportunities for Research. J Am 
Coll Cardiol. 55, 966-973. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2009.07.075. 

6.  Colby, S.L., and Ortman, J.M. (2017). Projections of the 
Size and Composition of the US Population: 2014 to 
2060: Population Estimates and Projections. 
http://wedocs.unep.org//handle/20.500.11822/20152. 
Accessed October 16, 2017. 

7.  Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2011). 
Disparities in Health Care Quality Among Racial and 
Ethnic Minority Groups: Selected Findings from the 
AHRQ 2010 NHQR and NHDR. Rockville, MD. 
https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/researc
h/findings/nhqrdr/nhqrdr10/minority.pdf. Accessed 
March 19, 2019. 

8.  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2004). 
Health Disparities Experienced by Racial/Ethnic Minority 
Populations. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep.  53,  755. 

9.  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). CDC 
Health Disparities and Inequalities Report — United 
States. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 60. 
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/other/su6001.pdf. 

10.  O’Keefe, E.B., Meltzer, J.P., and Bethea, T.N. (2015). 
Health disparities and cancer: racial disparities in cancer 
mortality in the United States, 2000-2010. Front Public 
Health.  3,  51. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2015.00051. 

11.  American Cancer Society. (2019). Cancer Facts & Figures 
for African Americans 2019-2021. https://www.cancer.org 
/research/cancer-facts-statistics/cancer-facts-figures-for-
africanamericans.html. Accessed March 20, 2019. 

12.  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). 
Leading Causes of Death by Age Group, Race/Ethnicity 
Males, United States. https://www.cdc.gov/health 
equity/lcod/men/2010/LCODrace_ethnicityMen2010.pdf. 

13.  National Institute on Minority Health and Health 
Disparities. (2016). The Center for Asian Health Engages 
Communities in Research to Reduce Asian American 
Health Disparities. NIMHD. https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/ 
news-events/features/training-workforce-dev/center-
asian-health.html. Accessed March 20, 2019. 

14.  US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of 
Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, US 
Department of Health and Human Services, Office of 



 
 
 
 
 

 
www.companyofscientists.com/index.php/chd                   e5                                              Cancer Health Disparities 

Commentary 

Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2000). 
Healthy People 2020. https://www.healthypeople.gov/. 
Accessed March 20, 2019. 

 
 
 
 
 
 


