Colon cancer is one of the most common cancers in Canada and the Atlantic provinces have some of the highest numbers of new cases and deaths. Screening can reduce mortality by preventing and/or catching the disease early. But in Nova Scotia, the screening participation rate remains low, around 41 per cent.
StFX Interdisciplinary Health professor Dr. Arlinda Ruco has been awarded a Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) Emerging Scholar Research Grant (valued at $594,197) and is leading a team working to identify whether certain groups may be less likely to participate in colorectal cancer screening and to co-design potential interventions to improve uptake.
The Nova Scotia Colon Cancer Prevention Program (NSCCPP) was implemented in 2009 and people aged 50-74 are sent a screening kit in the mail every two years. Dr. Ruco will collaborate with and use data from the NSCCPP to identify colorectal cancer screening disparities in Nova Scotia and explore barriers and enablers to screening.
Dr. Ruco—who is also an Adjunct Scientist, Women’s College Hospital; Associate Member, Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute; and Affiliate Scientist at Nova Scotia Health and VHA Home HealthCare—will engage a patient/community advisory group throughout as part of the research team. “This work is also aligned with the Health Equity Framework for Nova Scotia and focuses on improving outcomes for people who may experience poorer health in the province,” she says.
The CCS Emerging Scholar program supports promising early-career investigators from across Canada who are committed to cancer research. Thanks to its donors, CCS is investing $8.7 million to support 16 early-career researchers pursuing scientific advances of the highest relevance to help transform the future of cancer.
“Almost every single person will be affected by cancer in their lifetime in one way or another. Cancer screening allows us to prevent the disease altogether or diagnose it in the early stages when treatment may be more effective,” Dr. Ruco says.
“This funding is instrumental for my career as a cancer screening scientist. It will allow me to build the foundation for an innovative program of research focused on cancer screening and prevention in Nova Scotia and in maximizing outcomes for individuals that may experience worse outcomes.”
Dr. Ruco says to share results, a one-day workshop will be held with public, patients, providers and researchers from Atlantic Canada. This will be an opportunity to share lessons learned and plan for next steps including securing funding to conduct more fulsome testing of the developed interventions. The workshop will also raise the profile of colon cancer screening research in Atlantic Canada.
