GRACIAS Texas: Empowering South Texas’ underserved population
Mays Cancer Center Annual Report
Knowledge is power, and with today’s advances in science, knowing a family history of cancer through genetic testing can save lives. For millions of underserved minority populations, however, national genetics research has not included them in the formula. Ongoing work at the Mays Cancer Center, however, is changing that in South Texas.
For the last eight years, a program called GRACIAS Texas (Genetic Risk Assessment for Cancer in All South Texas) has been funded by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to educate, empower and provide meaningful tools to thousands living in the rural communities, towns and cities south of San Antonio.
Gail Tomlinson, M.D., Ph.D., chief of pediatric hematology/oncology at the Mays Cancer Center, established GRACIAS Texas in 2012 with an initial $2.8 million grant from CPRIT when she noticed a need for cancer prevention education in South Texas. The program was then extended across a larger geographic region with an additional $1.5 million extension. Since then, the program has reached more than 500,000 individuals arming them with important cancer prevention and cancer screening knowledge that other Americans have had access to for decades. In addition, more than 1,000 individuals have had their DNA analyzed through genetic testing.
“Over the last 26 years, we have seen cancer mortality rates drop substantially, and that’s because we know so much more about both what causes cancer and how to treat it. We also know that this decrease has not been as substantial in underserved populations,” explains Dr. Tomlinson, who also serves as co-leader of the center’s Population Science and Prevention program.
One of the keys to combating cancer is early detection, and one of the best tools for early detection is knowing the patient’s family history. Through genetic testing, sometimes an exact genetic mutation can be found that points to familial cancer while other times, no alteration is found. This means that other factors caused a clustering of cancers in family members. These factors include diet, lifestyle and environment. All of these may contribute in various ways to cancer risk in families.
Through GRACIAS Texas’ genetic counselors, individuals who are identified with a family history of cancer receive a one-on-one consultation, either in person or via video conferencing. Dr. Tomlinson and her team have established a video conferencing tool that connects various sites to the UT Health San Antonio Regional Campus Laredo through a secure video. An individual or multiple family members use a private room and connect with a genetic counselor at the Laredo campus.
When appropriate, genetic testing is conducted. If it is possible, patients visit the Cancer Genetics and High-Risk Screening Clinic at the Mays Cancer Center in San Antonio, but since many families in South Texas are geographically remote and often can’t afford transportation to San Antonio, GRACIAS Texas helps them get the screening needed for genetic testing.
“Most of the genetic research done in this country is on non-minority populations, and only 3 percent of the genetic information represents individuals of Hispanic background,” Dr. Tomlinson explains. “Our population in South Texas, which largely consists of those with a Hispanic background, particularly of Mexican heritage, is a group for which we have less understanding and less knowledge when it comes to genetics.”
Working in collaboration with community health care workers and educators throughout South Texas, GRACIAS Texas has made inroads in rural communities, towns and cities from Webb, Maverick and Val Verde counties to Eagle Pass, Del Rio, Edinburg, Harlingen, Laredo and
San Antonio. It has covered the southeast coastal regions including Corpus Christi in Nueces County.
Through educating the underserved population in South Texas, GRACIAS Texas is positively impacting the future of health and wellness, and in turn, moving the needle when it comes to diversity in genetic testing.
