Avanzando Caminos (Leading Pathways): Design and Procedures of The Hispanic/Latino Cancer Survivorship Study

Am J Epidemiol. 2024 Apr 3:kwae033. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwae033. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Purpose: Avanzando Caminos (Leading Pathways): The Hispanic/Latino Cancer Survivorship Cohort Study aims to examine the influence of sociocultural, medical, stress, psychosocial, lifestyle, behavioral, and biological factors on symptom burden, health-related quality of life, and clinical outcomes among Hispanics/Latinos who have been previously treated for cancer.

Methods: Avanzando Caminos is a prospective, cohort-based study of 3,000 Hispanics/Latinos who completed primary cancer treatment within the past five years that is representative of the general Hispanic/Latino population in the U.S. Participants will complete self-report measures at baseline (T1), 6 months (T2), 1 year (T3), 2 years (T4), 3 years (T5), 4 years (T6), and 5 years (T7). Blood draws to assess leukocyte gene expression, cardiometabolic markers, and genetic admixture will be collected at baseline (T1), 1 year (T3), 3 years (T5), and 5 years (T7). Medical and cancer characteristics and clinical outcomes will be extracted from the electronic medical record and/or state cancer registry at each time point. Data analysis will include general latent variable modeling and latent growth modeling.

Conclusions: Avanzando Caminos will fill critical gaps in knowledge to guide future secondary and tertiary prevention efforts to mitigate cancer disparities and optimize health-related quality of life among Hispanic/Latino cancer survivors.

Keywords: Hispanics; Latinos; cancer; post-treatment completion; quality of life; survivorship.