Advocating for a “Community to bench model” in the 21st century

Academic cancer centres have a longstanding tradition of conducting research contributing to discoveries and generalizable knowledge. The benefits of these discoveries have not always translated equitably to all communities. Dr. Harold Freemen suggested this “discovery-to-delivery” disconnect as a critical contributor to cancer health inequities, further exacerbated by overlapping factors (poverty, obesogenic environments, and social injustice) [1] collectively described by John Galtung in 1969 as “structural violence.” While cancer incidence and mortality has declined across all racial/ethnic groups, the enduring gaps between racial/ethnic groups stem largely from differences in the upstream determinants of health, including policies negatively impacting these groups.