Affiliation:
1. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
2. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
3. Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University, Seattle, WA, USA
4. University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
5. Rayos Contra Cancer
Abstract
The Binaytara Foundation annual Summit on Cancer Health Disparities is one of the largest clinical and research conferences on cancer disparities in the USA. The 2023 theme was “Reframing and Addressing Barriers to Adoption of Precision Oncology”, and sessions included clinical trials, novel technologies, access to care, vulnerable populations, screening, career development, and medical, surgical and radiation oncology topics. Speakers in the Radiation Oncology session discussed frameworks for health equity as well as the nature and potential solutions for geographic, educational, and infrastructure factors that create radiation therapy disparities in the US and globally. Dr. Gita Suneja began the session by discussing social determinants of health, gaps in health equity research, and opportunities to improve the quality and impact of health equity research, with the goal of moving towards justice in cancer care delivery and outcomes. Dr. Solmaz Amiri discussed geospatial analyses of disparities in access to radiation therapy facilities in the United States, which identified stark disparities particularly for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) patients. Dr. Benjamin Li shared the origin and efforts of a global radiation oncology non-profit group, Rayos Contra Cancer (RCC), which leverages the skills and passion of volunteer clinicians in the United States to provide free online, real-time lecture courses around the world to address gaps in local education and training. Finally, Dr. Afua Yorke discussed ongoing work with RCC to improve the program evaluation process, and training and mentorship experiences from a medical physics educational partnership between the University of Washington and Ghana.