ABOUT
Stomach (Gastric) Cancer disproportionately affects non-White minority groups, especially Asian and Hispanic Americans. The incidence of gastric cancer in the US varies significantly between different ethnicities and races. The highest number of cases of gastric cancer in the US occur among Asian and Hispanic Americans. Looking at the subjects aged 50 and older, the incidence was at least 1.8-fold to 7.3-fold higher in non-white groups than in non-Hispanic whites (NHW). Furthermore, the disparities in the incidence and mortality of gastric cancer are associated with the disparity in federal funding for cancer research in the US, with gastric cancer receiving one of the lowest funding among nineteen cancer types.
Despite these alarming statistics, there is no structured system in the US to screen gastric cancer in high-risk populations. The barriers that make these minority populations so vulnerable must be understood to overcome the inequity in perpetuating these disparities and develop new approaches to mitigate disparities. One crucial barrier is the current lack of awareness of the incidence and mortality of gastric cancer and its associated disparities in all sectors of society, including the public, medical community, and governments. At the same time, it would be necessary to address deficiencies in social and political infrastructure that put minority groups at higher risk for developing gastric cancer.
Our mission is to bring together communities and physicians to work towards creating innovative approaches for stomach cancer awareness campaigns. SCTF aims to help the medical community and governments provide equitable access to stomach cancer screening and early detection for high-risk populations.
OUR ACTIVIES
The specific objectives are (A) to effectively campaign to raise public and government awareness of stomach cancer and its disparities in the United States; (B) to provide patients afflicted with stomach cancer with support and to link them with clinical care, especially for those that are economically disadvantaged; (C) to support stomach cancer research and provide patients access to the fruits of such research; and (D) to reduce the impact of stomach cancer by making stomach cancer screening and early detection more accessible to high-risk populations, focusing on equity.
OUR FOUNDER
Chul S. Hyun, MD, PhD, MPH
Founder, Stomach Cancer Task Force
Chairman, New York Health Forum
Chul S. Hyun received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University, M.D. from the University of Miami School of Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine Internship and Residency at Georgetown University Medical Center. Subsequently, he pursued a Gastroenterology and Liver Fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine. He holds a Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and an MPH from Columbia University. He furthered his research with a postdoctoral fellowship in Physiology at the University of Chicago School of Medicine. He is Board-certified in Gastroenterology and has been a faculty in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Weill Cornell Medical College since 1996. Dr. Hyun has served as a Board Member of the New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners (2017- 2018). He has also served as the president of the Korean American Medical Association (2011-2013) and is the founding President of the World Korean Medical Organization (2012-2015). He has founded several nonprofit health organizations such as the Center for Viral Hepatitis and Asian American Stomach Cancer Task Force, and published articles on ethnic health disparities in the US. He is currently the chair of the New York Health Forum (NYHF).
