Barriers to Obtaining Sera and Tissue Specimens of African-American Women for the Advancement of Cancer Research

African-American women, a historically understudied and underserved group, have increased risk for triple-negative breast cancer and obesity-associated disease. Obesity-associated metabolic diseases share a common link of low grade chronic inflammation, but not all obese women have metabolic disturbances or are inflamed. One goal of our ongoing research is to identify blood biomarkers that can predict increased risk of breast cancer in women who have obesity or metabolic dysfunction. However, vulnerable populations that stand to benefit most from advances in biomedical research are also underrepresented in research studies. The development of effective, novel approaches for cancer prevention and treatment will require significant basic medical research effort to establish the necessary evidence base in multiple populations. Work with vulnerable human subjects at a safety net hospital enabled us to comment on potential obstacles to obtaining serological and tissue specimens from African-American women. Here, we report some unexpected barriers to participation in our ongoing research study that might inform future efforts.