African American Families and Lung Cancer Study

NCT00487760 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: 99990716107-HG-N161
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 400
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study will learn more about the beliefs of family members of African American patients with lung cancer and whether these beliefs are associated with their interest in genetic testing for disease risk and willingness to participate in genetics research. Lung cancer is the second most common form of cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women in the United States. Like most cancers, there are racial and ethnic disparities (gaps) in lung cancer cases and deaths. The age-adjusted rates for blacks and whites (years 2000 to 2003) was 76.9 per 100,000 and 66.0 per 100,000, respectively. Mortality rates were 62.5 per 100,000 for blacks and 55.3 per 100,000 for whites. Cigarette smoking is the most preventable cause of lung cancer. Findings are that African Americans begin smoking at older ages and smoke fewer cigarettes per day than Caucasian Americans do. Yet the severity of lung cancer is greater for African Americans. Behavioral, social, environmental, and genetic factors may explain the differences. Participants (subjects) ages 18 to 55 who are family of patients with lung cancer who self-identify as African Americans may be eligible for this study. Washington, D.C., researchers plan to recruit 115 lung cancer patients and 200 family members-100 current smokers and 100 who never smoked. Lung cancer patients, who must have been born in the United States, will be recruited from those who are receiving care at the Washington Cancer Institute at the Washington Hospital Center. They will be asked to list relatives and friends they consider to be as close as family. Patients will be asked permission for researchers to contact those people. Family members will receive a letter telling them that unless they decline to participate, they will be contacted by a telephone interviewer. The survey will feature questions to evaluate family members' explanations for the causes of lung cancer, as well as their reactions to possible reasons for the disparity in lung cancer between African Americans and Caucasian Americans. Subjects will be asked about perceived personal risk, worry about developing lung cancer, smoking history, motivation to quit smoking, feelings about the lung cancer patient's diagnosis, racial identify, experience with racial discrimination, pros and cons of genetic testing, and interest in genetic testing. The survey will take up to 20 minutes to complete. This study may or may not have a direct benefit for those who participate. However, lung cancer patients and their families will be offered a free self-help guide to stop smoking. They will be referred to local smoking cessation programs. Knowledge gained from the study may be used to design smoking cessation methods and research studies related to genetics for minority populations.

Conditions

Lung Cancer

Keywords

Lung Cancer; African-American Families; Genetic Risk Communication; Interest in Genetic Testing and Genetics Research; Health Disparities; Smoking Cessation

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Patients:
• Step 1a: In order to be approached about the study, patients must be (1) at least 18 years of age, (2) diagnosed with lung cancer at any stage (Stages Ia-IV), (3) approved for contact by their oncologist, and (4) identified by the recruiter or identified in medical records as Black.
• Step 1b: In order to provide consent for contact for the telephone survey, patients must self-identify as AA/Black and must have been born in the U.S. Also, patients must be willing to give permission to contact at least one family member or friend considered as close as family who is a current cigarette smoker between the ages of 18 and 55 in order to provide consent.
• Step 2: At the point of the patient survey, all patients will be asked their race/ethnicity. All patients who self-identify as AA/Black as defined by this research will be administered the patient survey.
• Family:
• Current Smoker: to be included as a smoker , the family member must report having smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime, and smoked 7 or more cigarettes in the past 7 days at the time of the family member survey.
• Never Smokers: to be included as a never smoker , a family member must report no to having smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime.

You may not qualify if:

• Former smokers (i.e., family who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime but smoked fewer than 7 cigarettes in the past 7 days) because previous research shows consistently that these individuals hold attitudes and beliefs more similar to those of current smokers than never smokers.
• Patients who describe themselves as AA or Black but were not born in the U.S. will be excluded from participation.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI): lead

Study Sites (1)

Washington Hospital Center

Washington D.C., District of Columbia, 20010, United States

Location

Related Publications (3)

• Arthur CM, Katkin ES. Making a case for the examination of ethnicity of Blacks in United States Health Research. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2006 Feb;17(1):25-36. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2006.0017.

  PMID: 16520504 BACKGROUND

• Baty BJ, Kinney AY, Ellis SM. Developing culturally sensitive cancer genetics communication aids for African Americans. Am J Med Genet A. 2003 Apr 15;118A(2):146-55. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.10150.

  PMID: 12655495 BACKGROUND

• Clark R, Anderson NB, Clark VR, Williams DR. Racism as a stressor for African Americans. A biopsychosocial model. Am Psychol. 1999 Oct;54(10):805-16. doi: 10.1037//0003-066x.54.10.805.

  PMID: 10540593 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Lung Neoplasms; Smoking Cessation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Respiratory Tract Neoplasms; Thoracic Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Lung Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Health Behavior; Behavior

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: NIH

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 16, 2007
• First Posted: June 19, 2007
• Study Start: June 11, 2007
• Study Completion: August 2, 2011
• Last Updated: July 2, 2017

Record last verified: 2011-08-02

Locations

US (1)