Nov 30, 2016
UPenn PRC Director and Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor Karen Glanz, PhD, is tackling the stigma associated with prostate cancer in a new project with collaborator Neha Vapiwala, MD, Penn associate professor of radiation oncology. Building on the 2015 UPenn PRC Prostate Cancer Evidence Academy conference, Glanz and Vapiwala seek to empower prostate cancer patients with information and support that will help them with decision making about their medical and treatment choices. “The conference was a first venture of its kind for us,” Glanz says. “Out of that came some clear needs, and some of them really converged with what Neha had noticed in her clinic.”
The project, funded in part by the Prostate Cancer Foundation, was inspired by a health-conscious, African-American, 40-something patient of Vapiwala’s who was unaware a man his age could get prostate cancer. The researchers envision a train-the-trainer type program. Phase one, in process, is four focus groups composed of African Americans and Latinos, two high-risk populations. Part two will include creating mini-curricula and working with community organizations to select the trainers. Glanz and Vapiwala believe their approach may be applicable to other diseases. “We’re using prostate cancer as a model,” Vapiwala says. “You could insert cervical cancer, diabetes, or any number of health conditions associated with stigma, fear, and mistrust.”
Read more about the project in Penn Current.
Jun 23, 2016
PRC Researcher Andrew Strasser, PhD, recently published two studies about the behaviors of smokers which show that low-nicotine cigarettes may not significantly change smokers’ habits and that smokers tend to ignore warning label boxes in tobacco advertisements.
In a randomized clinical trial where some smokers were given RNC (reduced nicotine content) cigarettes, those smokers used more cigarettes and had a higher smoke exposure on a daily basis. The findings in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, & Prevention suggest that RNC use does not necessarily reduce smoking behaviors or biomarkers, althought the lowest RNC level tested may reduce harm exposure.
A study utilizing eye-tracking technology showed that the majority of smokers do not look at the warning label box found in tobacco advertisements, nullifying the value of warning boxes for informing smokers about tobacco risk. When risk information was included in the body of the advertisement, smokers were more likely to look at and retain information about smoking risk. The findings in Drug and Alcohol Dependence support reevaluation of how risk warnings are presented.
“The Tobacco Control Act allows the FDA to regulate tobacco product marketing and advertising so that people are not mislead about harm; and, the FDA can also set standards on cigarette constituent levels, including nicotine, if scientific evidence supports it will benefit public health,” said Strasser. “While these studies are scientifically quite different, their results may collectively inform future policy and law by regulating the ways RNCs can be marketed, as well as identifying optimal nicotine levels in cigarettes to reduce exposure to the dangerous substances they contain.” The researchers suggest these results could support regulation for how tobacco products are marketed.