Robert Winn: Without ‘high-touch’ strategies, cancer’s breakthroughs will increase disparities
“We could reduce right now cancer by 50% in the next 25 years by active navigation, by community activation.”
Looking at the dizzying progress in cancer medicine over the last couple of decades, it’s easy to imagine that advances in synthetic biology or immunology will soon help cure or prevent more cancers. But without a strategy to connect “these miracles” to all communities, only some will benefit and others will be left behind, said Robert Winn, the director of the Massey Cancer Center at Virginia Commonwealth University.
“We’re talking about early detection of cancers, multicancer early detection sort of approaches are happening. Where are the discussions of how these get out to the rural communities? The at-risk, underserved communities?” Winn said Wednesday at the 2023 STAT Future Summit. “I’m trying to ring the bell of awareness that as we are making these leaps and bounds within the medical sciences, we also really pay close attention to making sure the distribution of these miracles is more equitable.”
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