Understanding how ancestry, systemic stressors, and tumour immunity intersect to influence cancer outcomes

Despite significant advances in cancer treatment and diagnostics, outcomes remain disproportionately poor for many communities. These cancer inequities are shaped by a complex interaction of ancestry, systemic disadvantage, chronic inflammation, and tumour biology. Yet the immunological mechanisms underlying these disparities remain underexplored.  Our group is committed to addressing this gap by mapping how immune responses differ across ancestral and social backgrounds, and how these differences may influence tumour evolution, treatment response, and survival.

SAMBAI: Societal, Ancestry, Molecular and Biological Analysis of Inequalities

As part of Team SAMBAI, an international Cancer Grand Challenge collaboration across the UK, US, and Africa, we investigate the biological basis of cancer disparities in breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancers, which disproportionately affect patients of African descent.