PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: OVERALL COBRE Center for the Promotion of Cancer Health Equity (CePCHE) Profound cancer health disparities, in urgent need of being addressed, exist between Puerto Rico and the mainland U.S. The University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center (UPRCCC), and the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), through its two urban graduate centers, UPR-Rio Piedras and UPR- Medical Sciences, propose here a new Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) to immediately address cancer health equity for US Hispanics. The proposed Center for the Promotion of Cancer Health Equity (CePCHE) will 1) focus on Hispanic health equity in cancer to benefit both PR and the U.S. Mainland; 2) use a comprehensive research - basic, translational, clinical – plan to build UPR capacity, and position the UPRCCC for NCI designation; 3) expand the pipeline -young investigators, postdocs and graduate students - of competitive Hispanic cancer researchers to address cancers that are disproportionately higher in PR and among mainland US Hispanics; and 4) provide a model based on PR’s experience in outreach to help increase evidenced-based health equity strategies among mainland U.S. Hispanics.

PROJECT NARRATIVE: OVERALL COBRE Center for the Promotion of Cancer Health Equity (CePCHE) The Center for the Promotion of Cancer Health Equity (CePCHE) will focus on Hispanic health equity in cancer using a comprehensive research - basic, translational, clinical – approach to build the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) capacity, expanding the pipeline of competitive Hispanic cancer researchers to address cancers that are disproportionately higher in Puerto Rico and among mainland US Hispanics.