NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Georgia's Center for Oncology Research and Education (CORE) and the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) have partnered with three universities to develop evidence-based recommendations for breast cancer genomics risk assessment and education efforts.
The new Georgia Breast Cancer Genomics Education, Surveillance, and Policy Program (GBCG ESP) is funded with a $900,000 grant from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but the aim behind creating the multi-partner project will be to keep it sustainable after the federal funding is gone.
Other collaborators on the project include the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Morehouse School of Medicine, and the Georgia Health Policy Center at Georgia State University's Andrew Young School of Policy.
The program partners will enhance activities to promote breast cancer genomics by increasing testing and counseling and develop programs to increase public knowledge about family history, risk assessment, and genetic counseling and testing.
Emory will start by piloting a screening tool to identify high-risk women that will be disseminated for use throughout the state in regions with racial and ethnic disparities in geographically defined areas. The project will kick off in three such areas and will expand to seven more areas in the second phase.
"Georgia women are diagnosed with breast cancer more than any other cancer, and it is the second leading cause of cancer death among women in our state," Kimberly Redding, director of the health promotion and disease prevention program with the Georgia DPH, said in a statement. "Through this program, we have the opportunity to reach populations that are rural, under-served and at high risk for breast cancer."
Georgia is one of three states to have received funding from the CDC's Education Awareness Requires Learning Young Act. The other two states are Michigan and Oregon.