Breast Cancer Research Among Black Women Conference 2024
On 12th of March 2024, Manchester Cancer Research Centre, in collaboration with The University of Manchester, held its inaugural Breast Cancer Research Among Black Women conference at The Whitworth Art Gallery.
The event was an opportunity for researchers across the UK to share work, alongside patients and the public, that spotlighted Breast cancer research in Black women. The primary goal was to unite individuals for an open discussion on breast cancer among Black women and explore strategies to enhance their involvement in research, access to care, and overall health outcomes.
We are so pleased to have hosted this conference, and we really hope that the work shared and the networks that we have started to build will make a positive difference on breast cancer research among Black women.
Simon Reeds
Conference organising committee member
Keynote addresses
Professor David Wedge
The day began with a keynote address by David Wedge, Professor of Cancer Genomics and Data Science at The University of Manchester. David discussed the necessity of studying heterogeneity of somatic mutations in primary and metastatic cancers, specifically within understudied populations. His research team, working alongside researchers at The University of Chicago and Lagos State University College of Medicine, Nigeria, has explored the genomics of breast cancer in Nigerian women and the identification of ethnic-driven somatic evolution and distinct genetic subtypes in these patient groups.
Dr Georgette Oni
Dr Georgette Oni, a consultant plastic and aesthetic reconstructive surgeon at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, also addressed the attendees on her ongoing work with breast cancer patients, specifically within ethnic diverse communities in her talk “Let’s talk about Black women and breast cancer”. She spoke about her background, her family stories of breast cancer, her community work and her drive to be one of the only black oncology surgeons in the country. Part of this work included the Black women and Breast Cancer Conference that is held annually in London to bring patients and researchers together and raise awareness of disparity in outcome and treatments.
Professor Rob Bristow
Professor Rob Bristow gave the final keynote address of the day. He highlighted the necessity for increased ethnic diversity in clinical trials and for the development of cancer treatments and testing strategies that are beneficial for all affected populations. Additionally, he highlighted current steps the Manchester Cancer Research Centre has put in place to drive an inclusive research environment. This includes incentives such as collaborating with community groups, like the Caribbean, African Health Network, to improve representation of black patients and black PhD students in research.
Patient panel session
A unique aspect of the event was the panel discussion between breast cancer community patient groups, involving Hannah David, Senior Clinical Research Nurse, May Nisar, Senior Breast Clinical Nurse Specialist, and Naomy Samoei, Community Engagement Lead and Research Assistant at The University of Manchester. This was an opportunity for a conversation style Q&A session about patients’ experience during treatments based on their ethnic backgrounds. Themes included:
- Bringing researchers and practitioners together to help better understand the needs of patients
- How to raise awareness of cancer screening and cancer risk in the black community
- Difficulties in research recruitment and how to involve more ethnic minorities in research
- The benefits of working closely with ethnic minority communities in addressing access barriers
Patient panel session. Left to right: Sally Best, panel host, May Nisar, Senior Breast Clinical Nurse Specialist, Hannah David, Senior Clinical Research Nurse and Naomy Samoei, Community Engagement Lead and Research Assistant at The University of Manchester.
Networking and poster sessions
Conference presentations
There were various presentations from researchers and health care practitioners, including:
- Mr Rajiv Dave who discussed addressing inequalities in breast cancer care by promoting health behaviour changes amongst women from ethnic minority backgrounds in Greater Manchester
- Professor Sue Astley who outlined the use of AI-based predictions for breast density in Black women and the challenges with training predictions models using inclusive data
- Anietie Aliu who outlined a systematic review of barriers to breast cancer screen within women from Black African and Caribbean descent and interventions to address these barriers.
- Professor Rachel Cowen who presented The University of Manchester Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy for inclusive research
- Professor Gareth Evans who presented data from the PROCAS study on predicting breast cancer risk in Black, and White British and Irish women in Manchester
- Lorraine Turner who presented on barriers and enablers to participation in cancer clinical trials for ethnically diverse communities
- Dr Omolade Femi-Ajao who discussed intersectionality and the necessity for culturally competent interventions
Organising committee
This conference was organised by members of The University of Manchester and Manchester Cancer Research Centre: Dr Omolade Femi-Ajao, Wafa Alotibi, Simon Reeds, Adesewa Adebisi, Dr Deepti Wilks and Sally Best.
Left to right: Adesewa Adebisi, Sally Best, Dr Omolade Femi-Ajao, Dr Deepti Wilks and Simon Reeds.
