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

项目摘要/摘要 尽管有1140万墨西哥移民生活在美国，但生物和行为决定因素 他们之间的癌症差异被极大地忽视了。虽然研究表明，不利的 童年经历(ACE)会影响成年后的癌症，但这种联系在 墨西哥移民。此外，暴露在少数族裔的压力下会导致成年人身体健康状况不佳。 结果。这种联系对墨西哥移民来说尤其重要，因为他们暴露在 与他们的少数族裔身份相关的不成比例的压力源，这是耻辱和 歧视性的。人们认为，与少数群体相关的压力源是独一无二的(即，非 污名化人口)、加性的、慢性的和基于社会的。血管紧张素转换酶反复或慢性应激，如 生活在贫困中，或持续的与少数群体压力有关的成人经历，如适应文化的压力， 可能导致生物系统的失调和有害的健康行为。生物和行为应激 反应，如促炎细胞因子的存在，肥胖症的增加，酒精中毒和危险的性行为 活动与成年后癌症的发展有关。这项研究的目标是评估 墨西哥移民中血管紧张素转换酶、少数民族压力及其与癌症危险因素的关系。 这项研究将追求三个主要目标：(1)评估癌症危险因素与 (2)评估成年后癌症危险因素与少数族裔压力的关系；以及(3) 确定生物和行为癌症风险因素因添加剂而增加的程度 血管紧张素转换酶和少数民族应激对成年的影响。这项概念验证研究将招募50名墨西哥移民 (19-49岁)，居住在休斯顿地区。ACE调查将被用来追溯测量 儿童时期的压力，多维度养成压力问卷(MASI)将用于 衡量少数族裔的压力。直接评估将用于测量11种促炎细胞因子(例如，IL-6， IL-8和肿瘤坏死因子α)和三种肥胖指标(体重指数、体脂百分比和腰围 这项研究具有很高的创新性，主要有三个原因：(1)它关注的是 体验癌症差异，但很少包括在跨学科研究中；(2)它使用 将累积风险理论和少数压力理论嵌入生活的跨学科框架 课程视角，以了解社会压力对癌症风险的影响；以及(3)使用多种生物学方法 和行为测量，以提供更完整的了解压力如何影响癌症风险。 据设想，这项研究将扩大一个跨学科的研究计划，旨在调查 生物学和行为学对癌症危险因素的影响。概念验证研究的结果将是 用于帮助设计一项更大规模的研究，以推进研究并修改癌症预防策略。

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 from the proof-of-concept study will be used to help design a larger scale study that will advance research and modify cancer prevention strategies.