# Pilot Project 1: Mexican immigrants' biological and behavioral cancer risk based on stress

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON · 2020 · $64,375

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Despite the 11.4 million Mexican immigrants living in the U.S., the biological and behavioral determinants that
contribute to cancer disparities among them are vastly understudied. While research has indicated that adverse
childhood experiences (ACE) influence cancer in adulthood, this association has not been investigated among
Mexican immigrants. In addition, exposure to minority stress is associated with poor physical adult health
outcomes. This association is particularly important for Mexican immigrants, as they are exposed to a
disproportionate number of stressors associated with their minority status that are stigmatizing and
discriminatory. It is believed that minority-related stressors are unique (i.e., not experienced by non-
stigmatized populations), additive, chronic, and socially based. The repeated or chronic stress of ACE, such as
living in poverty, or ongoing adult experiences associated with minority stress, such as pressure to acculturate,
can lead to dysregulation of biological systems and harmful health behaviors. Biological and behavioral stress
responses, such as the presence of pro-inflammatory cytokines, elevated adiposity, alcoholism, and risky sexual
activity are associated with cancer development in adulthood. The goal of this study is to evaluate the
association of ACE, minority stress and their combination with cancer risk factors among Mexican immigrants.
This study will pursue three primary aims: (1) Evaluate cancer risk factors in relation to the adversity that
occurred in childhood; (2) Evaluate cancer risk factors in adulthood in relation to minority stress; and (3)
Determine the extent to which biological and behavioral cancer risk factors increase as a result of the additive
effect of ACE and minority stress in adulthood. This proof-of-concept study will enroll 50 Mexican immigrants
(aged 19-49 years) who reside in the Houston area. The ACE survey will be used to retrospectively measure
stress during childhood, and the Multidimensional Acculturative Stress Inventory (MASI) will be used to
measure minority stress. Direct assessment will be used to measure 11 pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-6,
IL-8, and TNFα) and three adiposity measures (body mass index, body fat percentage, and waist
circumference).This study is highly innovative for three primary reasons: (1) It focuses on a population that
experiences cancer disparities but is rarely included in interdisciplinary research; (2) It uses an
interdisciplinary framework that embeds Cumulative Risk Theory and Minority Stress Theory into a Life
Course Perspective to understand the impact of social stress on cancer risk; and (3) It uses multiple biological
and behavioral measurements to provide a more complete understanding of how stress influences cancer risk.
It is envisioned that this study will expand an interdisciplinary research program aimed at investigating
biological and behavioral influences on cancer risk factors. The findings...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9991840
- **Project number:** 5P20CA221697-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Daphne C. Hernandez
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $64,375
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-22 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9991840

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9991840, Pilot Project 1: Mexican immigrants' biological and behavioral cancer risk based on stress (5P20CA221697-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9991840. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*