Jaya M. Satagopan, PhD
South Asians are among the fastest growing racial/ethnic minority in New Jersey and across the United States. South Asian Americans confront a wide range of health issues, including cancer. Breast cancer incidence is increasing among South Asian American women. Our recent study based on data from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results program showed that, at the time of their diagnosis of breast cancer, South Asian women are more likely to have aggressive tumors characterized by young age, regional or distant stage, higher grade, and estrogen receptor negative tumors than non-Hispanic White women. Further South Asian American women with breast cancer have considerably shorter follow-up than non-Hispanic White cases. These results suggest the urgent need for understanding why South Asian American women are diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer and the reasons for their short follow-up duration.
To address these needs, the South Asian Breast Cancer study collaborates with New Jersey’s South Asian community to gain insights into awareness, perceptions and attitudes about breast cancer, survivorship care, and follow-up care. This study has 3 components:
- Interview 18 medical staff to learn about their unique experiences and culture-specific aspects in providing health care to South Asian women in New Jersey;
- Three focus group dialogues with South Asian women living in New Jersey without a prior diagnosis of breast cancer to learn about their understanding of and attitudes towards breast cancer, mammogram screening, and genetic testing; and
- Three focus group dialogues with female South Asian breast cancer survivors living in New Jersey to learn about their experiences in receiving diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer, experiences and unique needs they feel about survivorship care and follow-up.
This is a Rutgers IRB-approved study (IRB number: Pro2020002217), led by Dr. Jaya M. Satagopan (Rutgers School of Public Health, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, and the Center for South Asian Quantitative Health & Education) in collaboration with Drs. Anita Kinney, Elisa Bandera, Shridar Ganesan, and Antoinette Stroup. Recruitment for this study began in February 2021.
Medical staff are recruited by distributing study information to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, and University Hospital Newark. South Asian women from the community are recruited by distributing the study information through various organizations serving New Jersey’s South Asian community, including EBC Radio, Yuva Sangeetha Lahari, North American Disease Intervention, and the Indian Health Camp of New Jersey. We are continuing to expand our partnerships with community organizations by reaching out to Mayors, Council people, and Department of Health staff across New Jersey. South Asian breast cancer survivors are recruited through the NJ State Cancer Registry.
The study progress is as follows:
- To date, 12 interviews with medical staff, and 2 focus group dialogues with South Asian women without a prior diagnosis of breast cancer have been completed.
- Interviews with additional medical staff and the final focus group dialogue with South Asian women without a prior diagnosis of breast cancer are scheduled for completion during Fall 2021.
- Recruitment of female South Asian breast cancer survivors commenced in August 2021, and the first focus group is scheduled for October 2021.
We anticipate qualitative analyses of the transcripts of interviews and focus groups to commence during the Winter of 2021/2022 and manuscript preparation during Spring 2022.
For more information, please contact satagopj@sph.rutgers.edu