Doctor Wynn, the Cancer Center director in Virginia Commonwealth, says it’s the ZNA which is the Zip code Neighborhood Association, rather than the DNA, causing many of these disparities and the outcomes we see.
Our research funding organizations that focus on genomics rather than social determinants of health supporting a form of systemic or structural racism?
There should be a shift in how we fund research from trying to identify a biological cause for this disparity. We know that diversity in medicine is lacking. Cancer patients receive higher quality care when they see someone of a concordant race. We know black patients don’t have the same access to high-quality care as white patients. So, even if gene X was identified and is why black men are more likely to die, now what? We still have all of these other issues that impact mortality or prostate cancer outcomes, but we’re funding all of this to find Gene X, where the research funding should include community engagement and outreach.