Robert Hiatt, MD, PhD, is one of five principal investigators on a U54 award recently funded by the National Cancer Institute.
A team of researchers from Stanford, UC San Francisco, and UC Davis have collaborated to launch the UPSTREAM Research Center, one of five new Centers for Cancer Control Research in Persistent Poverty Areas funded by the National Cancer Institute.
In the News
- Biden-Harris Administration launches initiative to improve cancer outcomes in low-income areas | National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- Landmark NCI grant bolsters UC Davis cancer health equity research | UC Davis
- Stanford Medicine-led study on income supplementation, cancer inequities in persistent poverty areas | Stanford
Led by five investigators including Robert Hiatt, MD, PhD, associate director for population sciences at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, the UPSTREAM Center will work with Hispanic and Asian American communities in Santa Clara and Yolo Counties in Northern California to assess how state programs for guaranteed basic income affect cancer outcomes. It will also test whether the earned income tax credit promotes the adoption of healthy behaviors related to reducing colorectal cancer risk.
Learn more about this new initiative in our Q&A with Dr. Hiatt, below.
Q: What motivated you and your colleagues to launch the UPSTREAM Research Center?
A: My colleagues and I have been interested in and writing about the social determinants of cancer of which poverty and low levels of income are key factors. It is also an ‘upstream’ factor that we might be able to modify fairly quickly as opposed to other upstream factors like lack of education, power, prestige and structural racism. We have had previous experience with income supplementation programs and wanted to test their impact on cancer behaviors in this five-year study.
“This is a novel research opportunity to understand the impact of two forms of income supplementation on cancer risk behaviors and resources for prevention and early detection.”
Q: How does this research build upon previous studies in California or across the country? How is it unique?
We and others have performed studies that demonstrate a socioeconomic gradient in cancer incidence and mortality for most cancer sites which we believe needs an explanation to inform effective interventions. We have also performed other studies that have been looking at income supplementation policies like the earned income tax credit (EITC) and basic guaranteed income programs. We are asking what their effect might be on cancer-related behaviors. Our study is unique in its focus on the impact of existing policies as opposed to interventions on cancer-related behaviors like tobacco use or poor diets.
Q: The new center will study the effects of income supplementation in persistently impoverished communities. What are some short-term and long-term goals for providing income support?
The behaviors we are examining include tobacco use, cancer screening, and other factors related to colorectal cancer. Ultimately we would like to see an impact of these policies on colorectal (and other major cancers) cancer incidence and mortality in persistent poverty areas of Northern California.
Because the ultimate outcomes will be long-term we are also applying a complex systems model that we have developed called the Paradigm model to assess these long-term effects on colorectal cancer incidence and mortality.