The Hollings Cancer Center (HCC) seeks to reduce the cancer burden in its catchment area: the state of South Carolina (SC). The distinct characteristics of SC?s cancer burden informs HCC investigators on priority empha- sis areas for basic, clinical, and population sciences research, including on ethnic, sociocultural, geographic, and other factors influencing disparities that merit increased attention and intervention. HCC?s ongoing assess- ment of its catchment area also guides the center?s community-focused and evidence-based education, cancer screening services, and public policy advocacy efforts. Although the city of Charleston, the home of the HCC, lies on the eastern seaboard of SC, HCC?s outreach efforts over more than two decades have reached every county of the state. As in the rest of the US, breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer account for most newly diagnosed cancer cases and cancer-related deaths; but there is an excess burden of these and other cancers among African Americans. HCC members in the four research programs are committed to serving the state by identifying mechanisms that account for the variability in cancer health outcomes, and ensuring that SC?s diversity is reflected in, and addressed by, HCC-based research. To this end, HCC has invested signifi- cantly in establishing institutional and community-based infrastructure to facilitate community engagement. The HCC has supported a centralized Community Outreach & Engagement (COE) Office since 2007. COE efforts provide evidence-based cancer screenings via a mobile health unit to more than 19 SC counties, lay naviga- tion for medically underserved individuals newly diagnosed with cancer, diverse educational forums supported by dedicated Community Health Educators, and an organizational focal point for HCC?s statewide, cancer-fo- cused advocacy and public policy efforts. The COE Office is also supported by a Cancer Disparities Advisory Committee, comprising community stakeholders from around the state. Guided by this committee?s input, the COE Office participated in or directed more than 850 community engagements throughout the catchment area during the past five years. These efforts reached nearly 13,000 diverse individuals with culturally-tailored edu- cation about cancer, cancer risks, cancer screening, and benefits of clinical trial participation. The COE Office supports cancer disparities-focused research in part through new awards that include: 1) an NCI U54 Cancer Disparities Research Center in collaboration with SC State University; 2) an NIMHD U54 Transdisciplinary Col- laboration Center that applies precision medicine to address prostate cancer disparities; and 3) the NCI Com- munity Oncology Research Program, which effectively extends trial options to minority and rural communities. While HCC has always been invested in community outreach and engagement, this new formal section in the CCSG will help HCC dedicate the additional emphasis and support required to make major strides in better serving the entire catchment area of South Carolina.
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