PROGRAM WORKS TO CLOSE RACIAL GAPS IN KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION

Recent research shows that patients in the CU Hispanic Transplant Program benefit from improved communication and cultural understanding.

Rachel Sauer

Kidney disease is sometimes called the “silent disease” because it can be symptomless in its early stages. An estimated 90% of Americans who have chronic kidney disease (CKD), may not even know they have it until it is advanced.

About 37 million adults in the United States have CKD, which, if left untreated, can progress to end-stage renal disease. Adding to these alarming data are significant disparities impacting Hispanic populations. Adjusting for age and sex, the prevalence of end-stage renal disease is almost 50% higher among Hispanic patients than nonHispanic white patients.

The University of Colorado Department of Surgery aims to

Greg Glasgow

Funding from the Paul R. O’Hara Seed Grant Fund at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus will allow Akshay Chauhan, MD, associate professor of GI, trauma, and endocrine surgery in the CU Department of Surgery to explore new methods of detecting and treating esophageal cancer.

“While overall cancer survival has improved, the prognosis of esophageal cancer continues to be dismal,” says Chauhan. “Despite recent improvements in screening and therapeutic strategies, esophageal cancer is often diagnosed in its advanced stage, underscoring a dire need to identify biomarkers to direct targeted early treatment.” address an area in which disparities are especially prevalent: kidney transplantation.

In research published in 2022, CU researchers noted that Hispanic patients have less access to transplantation than non-Hispanic white patients.

Two of the main culprits in kidney failure are diabetes and high blood pressure, explains Sixto Giusti, MD, an assistant professor of renal diseases and hypertension in the CU School of Medicine, conditions that significantly impact Hispanic populations.