# NYU Cancer Health Disparity (CHD) SPORE

> **NIH NIH P20** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2022 · $1,102,970

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Orodigestive tract (ODT) cancers, which account for 32% of cancer deaths in the US, exhibit striking racial
disparities in incidence and mortality burdens. Our central hypothesis is that the human microbiome contributes
to ODT cancer disparities through biologic interaction of the microbiome with the host in ODT oncogenesis. The
overall objective of the NYU Cancer Health Disparity (CHD) SPORE is to develop a comprehensive translational
research program to identify, understand and control the microbiota that account for orodigestive track (ODT)
cancer disparities. Project 1 will focus on the relationship of the oral microbiome to racial and socioeconomic
disparities in the incidence of head and neck cancer, by means of a prospective case-control study nested within
3 large highly diverse US cohorts. Project 2 will focus on the gut microbiome and Black and White racial
disparities in tumor recurrence in colon cancer patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy. Our research will
be strongly supported through shared Cores: (A) Administrative, (B) Biospecimen Procurement & Utilization, and
(C) Biostatistics and Bioinformatics. The proposal brings together a highly transdisciplinary team of investigators
that work collaboratively through every stage of the proposed research to accomplish the translational goal of
this P20 application. The NYU CHD SPORE will provide new knowledge on specific human microbiota that
contribute to ODT cancer disparities and will advance our understanding of the functional consequences of these
microbiota in ODT oncogenesis. The knowledge gained from the proposed research in the P20 SPORE will
transform current clinical practice by identifying high risk groups for ODT cancer in minority populations, that will
provide the scientific basis for developing microbially-based personalized prevention, clinical decision tools, and
prophylactic interventions to address ODT cancer disparities. Achievement of the P20 SPORE will lay a solid
groundwork for a P50 SPORE to translate these evidence-based findings of microbial factors contributing to
ODT cancer disparity into actionable practice-based interventions at the clinic and community level.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10476474
- **Project number:** 5P20CA252728-03
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Jiyoung Ahn
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $1,102,970
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-17 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10476474

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10476474, NYU Cancer Health Disparity (CHD) SPORE (5P20CA252728-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10476474. Licensed CC0.

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