Christina Binney
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Research Mentor(s): Bradley Zebrack
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Social Work / Social Work
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Oral5
Session: Session 1 – 10am – 10:50am
Room: Breakout Room 3
Authors: Christina Binney, Bradley Zebrack, Lisa Kelley
Presenter: 3
Abstract
The Social genomic mechanisms of health disparities among Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer survivors research study is investigating the effect of psychological and social determinants of health on the health outcomes and quality of life for young adult and adolescent cancer survivors. The research is specifically investigating if psychological and social factors cause a change in the CTRA gene expression which has been shown to cause increased inflammatory responses and decreased immune responses in adults, which can cause adverse health effects or increase chances of relapse. The study is a cross-sectional study in which patients will be recruited and tracked for 2 years, giving blood samples and completing surveys administered every six months. The blood will be analyzed for each patient, their health will be tracked, and their surveys on mental health status, social determinants of health and quality of life will be analyzed. The surveys will be analyzed by creating averages and converting the answers into numbers for quantitative comparison. The blood will be analyzed by looking at a 53 gene index and looking at CTRA and for other, previously unknown, biomarkers. It is hypothesize that the CTRA gene will have higher expression in survivors with increased adverse childhood events, stressors, and who experience more adverse effects of the social determinants of health and psychological difficulties. Additionally, the increase in expression in patients is predicted to appear in patients who experience more adverse health effects and who are more likely to relapse or get sick in the future. However, as this study is ongoing, these hypotheses are not yet proven. The future research findings will allow interventions to be made to down the expression of CTRA and to intervene during treatment in patients experiencing negative social and psychological influences. Young adults and adolescents who have cancer would benefit from this research as interventions could lessen adverse health effects once they finish cancer treatment.
Biomedical Sciences, Social Sciences
